Tag: hospitals

Plan on Governor’s Desk would Allow Investments by Rural Hospitals

      A plan to bolster Missouri’s rural hospitals’ financially stability is one of the measures awaiting action from the governor after the close of the legislative session earlier this month.

Representative Tara Peters (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      The proposal from Representative Tara Peters (R-Rolla) would expand the authority of rural hospital boards to invest funds that aren’t used for immediate obligations or hospital operations. 

      It was one of several measures she proposed this year aimed at supporting rural healthcare.   

      “We have small, rural hospitals closing all over the state.  This was an opportunity for them to expand that so they can use more of that money on other investment opportunities so they can get more money back, to stay afloat.”

      “It’s very important for our smaller hospitals in districts like mine to stay open so that we can provide great healthcare for the State of Missouri,” Peters said. “This is just one tool to allow them to stop operating in the red.”

      Peters said for many years rural hospitals have been barred from investing non-operating funds.

      “It was explained to me that it was put in the statute a long time ago because one hospital, I guess, had invested all of its money, 100 percent of it, in pork bellies, and at that time all the pork bellies went under and they lost all their money, so there were limitations put on the percentage of the amount of money that hospitals could invest, to not lose it all,” said Peters.

      The hospitals had been asking for full spending authority, but that wasn’t feasible to House lawmakers. 

      “They didn’t get everything they wanted.  Obviously they would have liked the opportunity to have 100 percent but the committee who heard that negotiated, and this is allowing them to take 15 percent to do a variety of stocks, bonds, and money market investments.  It’s not 100 percent but it’s a lot more than what the state statute was allowing them to do in the first place.  I’m hoping that by doing that they can recoup some of that money and hopefully get some gains, and use that money to keep in operation.”

      Peters said there was good reason for the prohibition on investing that was put in place, but with the passage of time and with rural hospitals struggling to stay in operation, that law was out of date.

      “We need to make sure that our state’s statutes are actually supporting the causes of our local hospitals, and any entity, so that we can operate to the full extent, so again that we can benefit Missourians and not operate in archaic times where the state statutes aren’t really benefitting out establishments.”

      The language was sent to the governor as part of Senate Bill 1359.  He can choose to sign it into law, veto it, or allow it to become law without taking any action.

House approves ‘No Patient Left Alone Act’

      The House has approved the easing of restrictions on visitors in hospitals and nursing homes such as those experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Representative Rusty Black (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Representatives who backed the proposal cited instances of Missourians going for days or more and even dying without loved ones being allowed to see them.  Opponents said it should be up to facilities how best to place restrictions for the good of patients and residents.

      Called the “No Patient Left Alone Act,” House Bill 2116 was the combination of four pieces of legislation.  The sponsor of HB 2116 is Chillicothe Republican Rusty Black.

      “The overall bill would – I’m going to use the word ‘force’ – healthcare providers to allow a patient to list up to four people that could come visit them while they’re in the hospital,” Black explained. 

      The plan drew an impassioned speech from Majority Floor Leader Dean Plocher (R-St. Louis) who spoke about his late father-in-law’s stay in a hospital that lasted more than 20 days, during most of which he was not allowed visitors.  Plocher said for much of this his family was not updated on his condition; his call light was not answered, and they were denied an explanation on the administering of unusual medications.  He complained of improper care and was at one point found to have a fork embedded in his skin and to be suffering from mouth sores.

      He said what happened to his father-in-law in the days before his death was not unique.

House Majority Floor Leader Dean Plocher (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      “Health care facilities were allowed to arbitrarily set rules for visitation all while staff could come and go on a daily basis, and I guess they could, in fact, bring in viruses too.  Health care facilities essentially became prisons for our loved ones.  People were admitted.  One day you could have visitors, the next day you couldn’t.  People were confined without access to an advocate from those that knew them.  It was arbitrary and there was no recourse if you were locked away by a health care facility without access to visitors,” said Plocher.  “This bill protects all Missourians and all of our loved ones.  This bill is necessary and should be a right for of those receiving care, to have a visitor and an advocate by their side.”

      Several Republicans called the legislation perhaps the most important bill they could handle this year.

      “I truly believe that this bill will prevent a loss of life in many situations,” said Neosho representative Ben Baker (R), who chaired the committee that handled HB 2116.  “When you are in that situation where you have no one to turn to, no one that you know, no one that you have that personal relationship with, it’s extremely important for the mental well-being, the physical well-being of those patients in those situations to have that.  I can’t imagine what it would be like if I was in that situation where I had no one to advocate for me.”

      Some Democrats spoke against the measure saying health care facilities should be able to determine what practices are the safest for their staff and those in their care, particularly during a pandemic.

      “We all have rights and we all have freedoms and while your loved one is potentially needing support in one room, somebody else’s loved one is down the hall and they don’t need to be exposed to whatever it is that folks are bringing into that care facility,” said Representative Ashley Aune (D-Kansas City).

Representatives Ashley Aune (left) and Bridge Walsh Moore (Photos: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      “I can respect this is a horrible situation.  It was a horrible situation we were put in.  No one wants to keep family members from their loved ones in the hospital when they are sick.  No one wants to do that, but a lot of times it’s what has to be done,” said Representative Bridget Walsh Moore.

      “We all have high emotions about not being able to be with our loved ones at the end of their life , but I’m wondering if the policy, the legislation … takes the work and takes the authority, really, away from the people who are closest to the situation, working with their patients, to make a determination as to how safe, or not, it is for others to come in when people are sick,” said Representative Yolanda Young (D-Kansas City). 

      Republicans maintained that they worked with health care industry representatives in creating a bill that would answer their concerns while not jeopardizing safety in health care facilities. 

      “It’s done in a very prudent way.  It does not open up visitation in a free-for-all manner.  It’s thoughtful to where there’s only a handful of people that can get in off of a list and only a couple at a time, the facility can screen those folks, and so we can have the best of both worlds.  We can have the safety that’s required but we can also have those visitation rights that is so important to the folks who need us to come in to hold their hand, to be with them, to help them with their mental health and physical health by being there for them in person,” said Representative J. Eggleston (R-Maysville).

      The bill specifies that a patient’s list of visitors would include a spouse, or parents or guardians in the case of a child.  Facilities could still deny access to patients under specified circumstances including at the request of the patient or law enforcement; when a person has signs and symptoms of a transmissible infection; or when the attending physician believes the presence of visitors would be detrimental to the patient.  The bill’s provisions do not grant visitors access to restricted areas like operating rooms or behavioral health units. 

      The House voted 120-27 to send the bill to the Senate.