December 11, 2021 RMCH Health Workers Community Town Hall

In Gallup, New Mexico, on December 11, 2021, Over 100 community members gathered virtually and in-person, to share their concerns related to Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital (RMCH), a non-profit hospital in rural western New Mexico.

Video from the ZOOM meeting is available at:

www.rmchisourhospital.org.

(The current administration and the board of trustees for RMCH were invited, but apparently did not accept.)

RMCH is a major service point for patients who live in nearby Navajo Nation and Zuni Pueblo (70% of the patient population at RMCH is Native American), and it is the only hospital where IHS non-beneficiaries can seek care in the county. 

The hospital is facing a $9.4 million deficit in 2021 as well as a persistent 1-star CMS Hospital Rating, representing low community confidence and trust.  This town hall is the culmination of previous public meetings which consistently raised repeated concerns regarding the management decisions of interim-CEO Don Smithburg, who has entrenched himself in an adversarial stance with staff and community.  

At this meeting, multiple staff and community members spoke about broken trust with the hospital leadership, emphasizing the need for strong trustworthy leadership in order to move forward.  Community members also repeatedly stated the call for local leadership, especially as the current Board only has one member who lives locally; he fills a non-voting seat.

"Our community needs to understand to understand the plan for our hospital," said Mary Walker, owner of a local weaving shop that has attracted more than a million dollars in tourist revenue from all over the world.  "We need to change that plan if it doesn't meet our needs."  She emphasized the need to have at least half the board should be residents of McKinley County, as should the CEO.

Community members and former staff discussed their concerns related to the one-star CMS rating and quality concerns at the hospital, including its impact on the financial viability of the hospital.

"Profits and patient-centered care are not mutually exclusive," said Ashley Adams, a quality specialist. "They're correlated and should rise and fall together."

Guest speaker Dr. Tim Putnam, a national expert in rural hospital administration and former CEO of Margaret Mary Health, spoke to the challenges facing RMCH.  He stated that rural hospital leadership is challenging, and emphasized trust as an essential part of the job.  He encouraged the group to continue their advocacy.

"The more people that want to be part of the hospital thriving, and keeping good nurses, keeping good physicians, getting people to get people to not give up is the biggest thing," said Dr. Putnam.  "Once apathy comes in, it becomes difficult - but you guys are far from apathy at this time.  I will tell you it is a long road to move a one-star hospital to a five-star hospital, but it can be done."

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The Community Health Action Group is a group of concerned McKinley County citizens who organized over the summer around concerns related to Rehoboth Mckinley Christian Hospital.

More information and a video recording from the event is available at www.rmchisourhospital.org