AdventHealth CEO Details Rural Hospital Strategy Amid Funding Pressures
AdventHealth CEO David Banks told Becker's that the system is investing in rural hospitals, clinics and virtual services across its roughly 19 rural or critical access sites of 56 total hospitals, as federal funding pressures grow. Examples include a rural health clinic network in Clay County, Ky., extending into 14 surrounding counties with Walmart-based kiosks and virtual behavioral health; a $200 million replacement hospital under construction in Murray County, Ga.; and restored obstetric services in Ottawa, Kan., after a prior closure left about 300 mothers a year traveling up to an hour to deliver. Banks said decisions are driven by local leadership under a "co-operating model," with the larger system providing shared resources like Epic, supply chain and remote clinical services such as ICU and behavioral health coverage.