Rural Pa. The County is creating the capacity to improve health care services in the area

RIDGWAY – Five months after losing its maternity center, rural Elk County is trying to fill the gap by giving the north-central Pennsylvania community a say in access to local health services.

A three-member board of county commissioners worked unanimously to create — but not fund — the authority to explore opportunities to improve access and strengthen health care options in the area. The decision comes after months of intensive efforts to deal with the hole created when Penn Highlands Healthcare, a nonprofit organization with nine hospitals nationwide, closed its workforce and maternity services. of St. Marys.

“This is a moment for us to be in control of our future,” Ridgway native Zack Pontious told Spotlight PA.

Community members, who have seen services out of the area for years, say they are confused, frustrated and concerned about the closure of the maternity center – a decision that was made without public input and that Penn Highlands is not Do undo plans.

Now, Penn Highlands transfers pregnant patients in Elk County to its hospital in DuBois, which has 24-hour security and a 16-bed neonatal intensive care unit. But people in Elk County have to drive minutes away. over 30 to Clearfield County for fertility services.

Penn Highlands says money was not a factor in the decision to close Elk County employees and delivery services. However, financial constraints, aging patients and staff shortages make it difficult to maintain rural hospitals. The health system lost millions of dollars in operations, according to its financial statements. In August, the credit rating agency downgraded Penn Highlands, citing a $16 million operating loss and predicted financial difficulties.

The closure has created a six-county region where the community has no hospital or other facility to expose children – raising concerns among residents that people and industries will not want to move to an area without a maternity facility, which by hurting the local people. the economy.

To address this, the Elk County Healthcare Coalition – a group of more than 80 residents and business owners – asked the county commissioners to create a resolution authority.

During a 90-minute public hearing on the proposed authority, union members and Penn Highlands representatives spoke for and against it.

Community members said the authority will strengthen local health services by partnering with existing providers — including Penn Highlands — and researching alternative care options.

Meanwhile, Penn Highlands officials explained how financial and staffing problems prompted them to change jobs. System administrators also expressed concern that the agency would duplicate services and create more competition for grants among health care organizations. They wondered if the authority would deal with the needs of the people.

“It’s gone with the model of every community hospital providing ongoing services,” Penn Highlands Elk President Julianne Peer said during the meeting. Corinne Laboon, a spokeswoman for Penn Highlands, told Spotlight PA in an email that the authority “could cause confusion in the community.”

Coalition members argued that the union would only improve efforts to maintain services in the area and bring more options to the community.

“It is independent and complementary. That’s the bottom line of it,” Pontious, a member of the coalition, told Spotlight PA. “Creating an authority is free. There are other ways to receive and receive dollars and ways to receive and receive dollars relate to the taxpayers.”

The authority will have a seven-member board that will consider ways to partner with other organizations and seek grants to invest in local health care services without relying entirely on Penn Highlands. Other than electing people to serve on the board, Elk County officials have no other obligations in their work.

Elk County “doesn’t have to be tied to a business model” that doesn’t serve the community, Pontious said.

State officials have also met with Penn Highlands in the past 10 months, including members of the administration of Gov. Josh Shapiro and Rep. Mike Armanini (R., Clearfield), who represents parts of Elk County.

The governor’s office told Spotlight PA that access to affordable, high-quality health care locally is a top priority for Shapiro. Senior members of the Democrat administration first attended a hearing in St. Marys after the maternity center was closed and met privately with those involved.

The governor’s office cited a list of rural hospitals, which brought together policymakers and health care professionals to discuss issues within the industry, as an example of ongoing work to address service gaps. in distant places.

After meeting with the health system and residents in recent months, Armanini told Spotlight PA in a statement that he thinks “a practical solution will evolve.”

“I believe that Penn Highlands Elk is doing its best to be the voice of the community in seeking health services in their area,” he said. “We all know the problems associated with the health care industry, and for the public to speak up and ask why the situation is good.”

Armanini added that he understands why someone in Elk County would not be happy to travel to a facility 50 miles away and that it is up to the health system to provide reliable care in every area it serves.

“The closing of the maternity center is a big thing for the area because it increases the delivery time for transport and immediate care, so they need to have a solution to cover this change,” he said.

But community members and local elected officials have shouldered much of the responsibility for finding a solution.

When the closure of the maternity center was announced, local first responders made plans to improve delivery training – expecting it to happen more often with pregnant patients facing a long journey to the nearest centre. of pregnant women.

In late September, Missy Lecker, an Elk County paramedic, delivered a baby in the back of an ambulance parked by the side of the road. The crew left after realizing they would not make it to Penn Highlands DuBois in time. It was only the second time in her 23-year career that she had a child.

Although this training is common for paramedics and other emergency workers, they are limited in the type of care they can provide to maternity patients, Lecker said.

“If the hand, arm, comes out first, or the shoulder comes out first, we’re not allowed to give that at all,” Lecker told Spotlight PA. In that case, you drive at high speed and hope to be safe.