Helpful, Accessible and Knowledgeable
December 06, 2018
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David Dick
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By: David Dick, HRMC President & CEO
Earlier this fall, I was visiting friends about 35 miles south of Kadoka, SD. Have you ever been 35 miles south of Kadoka? It is beautiful as far as the eye can see – and you can see a long way down there. Driving up to their ranch I noticed a large trenching operation. I later learned that the electric cooperative is burying one if its major rural electrical lines. I can’t imagine the cost, but it is great that they care that much about uninterruptible energy for some of our most rural citizens, including the Native American communities.
Do you remember the days when almost any storm or wind knocked out not only your power, but your phones as well? Much has changed.
Rural communities also must continue to have uninterruptable access to health care. Yes, it too has a cost, yet I wouldn’t want to imagine a nation that did not value the lives of rural citizens. Because of a hospital’s value for rural living is vital, HRMC understands that one of our most important core values is the value of accessibility. Individually and as an organization, we maintain three “must have” values for you: being accessible, being helpful and being knowledgeable in healthcare services.
Today, I’m focusing on some of the aspects of what it means to have accessible health care. It means providing and maintaining a wide range of services, including inpatient, outpatient and emergent. Many of these services require 24-hour, seven day a week diligence. It means that most of our staff must be available not only during their shifts but often after their shifts. Physicians work during the day and are on-call weeknights and weekends. Why? Because it is unthinkable for a rural community not to have access to emergency services whenever they need it.
Maintaining accessibility also means we must worry more about things like electricity. Many of our rooms have two types of electrical sockets, a red socket and a white socket. The red sockets start the generator in the event of a power outage, connecting us to emergency power.
We receive great support from many of our local companies to help us keep this system going. Your neighborhood electrician and plumbers are often called upon day and night when we have an issue that needs immediate attention. Many thanks to you for your support.
And, rural healthcare workers are our red sockets. Keeping health care uninterruptable, interrupts their lives: weekends, nights and holidays. Many thanks to them for understanding the importance of this core value: accessibility.
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