House Hearing on Health Care at IUP
State representatives from across the commonwealth gathered to discuss potential solutions to rural health care challenges Thursday January 22 at the Hilton Garden Inn at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Regional health care professionals presented testimonies to state House Republican Policy Committee members at the “Overcoming Challenges in Rural Health Care” hearing Thursday to highlight issues impacting rural health care and potential legislative measures to address those issues.
“I invited the Republican Policy Committee here to Indiana County (because) I know all the great things we’re doing here with rural health care — with the residency program at IRMC, with the (proposed) school of osteopathic medicine at IUP, with economic development,” said State Rep. Jim Struzzi (R-Indiana).
“I wanted to share that with my colleagues because I believe some of the things we’re doing here can be replicated as models around the commonwealth to help address our rural health care needs.”
Some challenges discussed at the hearing included a lack of physicians, nurses, speech-language pathologists, radiologic technologists, laboratory professionals, nutrition and food science experts and mental and behavioral health providers — “the very professionals who make comprehensive, team-based care possible,” according to IUP Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Lara Luetkehans, one of the hearing’s testifiers.
Testifiers said critical health care workforce shortages can create significant gaps in rural health services, such as in Pennsylvania’s “OB-GYN deserts” that have left many residents without hospitals or birth centers to access maternity care.
“There are areas around this Commonwealth that simply don’t have adequate health care,” Struzzi said. “There’s OB-GYN deserts out there — an eight-county region where you aren’t even able to deliver a child (in a hospital setting).”
Other challenges included “overburdensome” regulations that take time, money and resources away from patient care.
Testifiers presented a few solutions, including initiatives to recruit and retain health care professionals and to develop inter-agency partnerships with hospitals and health systems.
One recruitment/retention solution involved “building your own” health care professionals locally through programs like Indiana Regional Medical Center’s Rural Family Medicine Residency Program and IUP’s proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Luetkehans called the proposed college a “workforce multiplier for rural Pennsylvania.”
She said IUP plays a vital role in Pennsylvania’s health care pipeline, with its nursing program alone producing approximately 120 graduates annually and a 97% first-time NCLEX pass rate.
“Our graduates serve communities across western and central Pennsylvania, with most remaining in the same regions where they train,” Luetkehans said.
She said the proposed medical school is “designed to serve rural Pennsylvania first,” with a goal of not just producing more physicians but strengthening entire health care teams and systems.
Another solution involved expanding nursing and allied health capacity by increasing educational opportunities and funding to pursue those opportunities.
Other solutions included reducing arbitrary regulations that cost time and resources; increasing funding for health care grants, scholarships, stipends, etc.; and developing inter-organizational partnerships with hospitals and health systems.
Testifiers said the aforementioned solutions could help increase workforce supply in high-need regions; improve retention of professionals in rural communities; and strengthen hospitals, clinics and community health systems.
“The rural health care challenges are real,” Struzzi said.
“Health care is very much different in urban areas compared to rural areas … So, I think these solutions need to happen quickly, and they need to happen soon, and I think today was a great step in the right direction to see some solutions were put forward.”
Struzzi said the Policy Committee will review the information presented at Thursday’s hearing; look at the notes provided by IRMC, IUP and the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania; and work to craft legislation “to hopefully address some of those needs.”
Testifiers at the hearing included IUP President Michael Driscoll, Pennsylvania Mountains Healthcare Alliance President and CEO Joe Gribik, HAP Vice President Arielle Chortanoff, IUP College of Osteopathic Medicine Founding Dean Dr. Miko Rose, Luetkehans, IRMC President and CEO Stephen Wolfe, IRMC Chief Human Resources Officer James Kinneer and Dr. Kelly Meyer.
As a follow-up, the PA House Republican Policy Committee met for a hearing at the Hilton Garden Inn in Indiana to discuss problems and solutions for rural healthcare.
Topics ranged from what is being done in Indiana County through IRMC’s Residency Program and the Proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine at IUP to some potential solutions to bring healthcare to communities. State Representative Jim Struzzi talked about the importance of holding these hearings in Indiana County.
Committee Chairman Representative David Rowe said that they are seeing how hard it is for healthcare to be affordable and available. He said that one solution is IUP’s proposed school, but one thing that needs to be done is to be able to train local and retain that local talent.
On hand to provide testimony were IRMC CEO Steve Wolfe, IUP President Dr. Michael Driscoll and founding dean of the proposed college of osteopathic medicine Dr. Miko Rose.
The committee will hold more hearings across the state and Struzzi is hopeful that bills and regulations to help fix rural healthcare problems will be a result of these hearings.
