ENTERPRISE, Ala. (WTVY) – After 32 years of serving women in Enterprise, the Enterprise Women’s Center will close its doors for good in March.
The reason, in part, is staffing shortages, according to officials. The closure is the latest in a series of rural healthcare closings, pointing to a bigger problem across Alabama.
Ian McFadden, director of the Wiregrass Alabama Area Healthcare Center, hosted by Troy University, said closures like this will continue unless major issues in rural Alabama are addressed.
“It’s unfortunate that we’re dealing with these kinds of issues, but it’s first a nationwide issue,” McFadden said. “I ran a hospital in Tennessee before I came here, and they have the same issues. The rural hospital in East Tennessee had to lose the OB unit.”
McFadden and the Wiregrass Alabama Area Healthcare Center have long sought ways to address the rural healthcare workforce crisis. The Enterprise Center operates with just one OBGYN and one nurse practitioner.
Paired with recruiting gaps, these issues across Alabama all point to one thing, McFadden said.
“Funding. I mean, everybody is strapped in the rural hospitals, and this has gone on for a long time,” he said. “There’s already a staff shortage. Alabama’s a rural state. Not only is there not Medicaid expansion, but the reimbursement for Medicare and other payers is lower than in surrounding states. If you’re able to get nurses who may want to come, then you’re having to compete for salaries.I’ve got to compete with Florida, Georgia, whatever, they may pay more in some instances.”
Efforts to solve this problem are numerous, such as drafting legislation.
“They’re looking at ways to help, create more funding opportunities for rural hospitals in the state,” McFadden said. “The problem is it goes through a lot of processes, like this rural transformation bill, which is supposed to bring a hundred million dollars into the state. That can’t get here fast enough. These CEOs and these people who operate facilities throughout the rural regions, they’re chomping at the bit to get some of that money because they need it for, not just for sustainability of hospital operations, but to be able to keep up with salaries, to be able to pay for coverages.”
McFadden said collaboration between healthcare providers and local schools is essential in filling shortages, which is why AHEC works to retain talent in the area. The health center will close its doors on March 31.
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