Cloquet hospital gets some national attention

Community Memorial Hospital took center stage earlier last month, when three visitors from Washington, D.C. arrived for a firsthand look at the rural hospital.

Eighth District Congressman Pete Stauber and Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Eric Hargan and Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Censky toured the Cloquet hospital on June 17, then stayed for a discussion with hospital officials and doctors.

Stauber said he brought the two undersecretaries - each No. 2 in their respective federal agencies - to Cloquet to meet in person with some of the doctors, administrators and others who work at and use the hospital here.

"Rural health care has some unique challenges," Stauber said. "We need to figure out how we can make sure rural America is taken care of."

Those challenges are numerous, said CMH CEO Rick Breuer.

"Rural hospitals typically serve people with fewer resources, so payment sources aren't as great," he explained. "They can struggle with access to providers and services, especially for those services needed only part-time but when they're needed, they're really needed."

Breuer welcomed the men and guided them around the hospital, explaining how CMH serves the community medically as well as in other ways, with Sunnyside Health Care Center on one side and a new family medical clinic on the other, along with community rooms where people can meet, attend classes or hold seminars.

The visit was a homecoming of sorts for both undersecretaries. Both were raised in rural areas: Censky in southern Minnesota, Hargan in rural Illinois by his mother, who was born and raised in Esko and actually worked at the hospital when it was known as Cloquet Memorial Hospital.

"My mother talked about how important the hospital was here," Hargan said, pointing out that 57 million people - one in six Americans - live in rural areas. "They could come and receive topnotch care. What we want to do is find out what works and what doesn't."

Censky pointed out that the Department of Agriculture has helped provide financing for two expansions at CMH: one in 2003-2004 and another in 2012-2013.

As they toured the building, Breuer pointed out the many renovated areas that the funding helped pay for. He noted that while a rural hospital like Cloquet's may not have everything that a larger hospital system might, CMH has brought a lot of services to Carlton County by partnering with different medical groups or businesses.

Those partnerships include renting space to Fresenius for dialysis services, and a joint venture with Healogics to provide advanced wound care.

CMH also works with CMDI, a cooperative of mostly small rural hospitals providing medical imaging equipment.

"We work with them to purchase equipment at best prices, and we are able to share mobile equipment with other rural facilities so we each don't have to purchase our own machines if we each only need them 1-2 days per week," he said.

He talked about working with other hospitals, versus being part of a larger system such as the Mayo or Essentia. People don't always understand that if they choose a "system" for basic care, the system will often direct them to their main facilities for basic care, regardless of the fact that they could get most of those services locally.

"The hospital is very much like any other local business: it needs local support to keep it alive," Breuer said.

But the CMH CEO is optimistic the hospital will remain healthy for a long time.

We have been blessed with a wonderful provider community, so access to services is not an issue for us," he said, stressing that the hospital focuses on the care experience. "Nobody in the region scores better than we do with respect to how happy our hospital patients or nursing home residents are."