If the doctor is that, then Allen Van Driel is the master of all budgets. Since the business of healthcare in a small town is patient-driven, dollars depend frankly on how sick people are and how much money their sickness generates. In a small town like Alma, there's going to be less specialized care, but they say the quality doesn't suffer. That's something we can't afford to do. The strength of what we do here is in the quality of the care and the personal touch that's associated with it.
Some people believe high tech is winning out over high touch care offered by rural hospitals.
Some rural administrators believe low Medicare reimbursements by the federal government are what's making it difficult to keep doors open, especially when more than half of the patient load receives federal assistance. But the feds are not giving all that money back. Rural hospitals are put in a financial bind. It's been so bad for some, they've appealed to state government. To cut costs, we outsource for meals from the local nursing home.