NPVMC optimistically hopes to open mid February

The North Platte Valley Medical Center (NVPMC) hosted a round-table discussion at the Platte Valley Community Center (PVCC) December 13. The CEO of the Platte Valley Medical Clinic and Saratoga Care Center, Jeff Mincy had predicted an opening in early January 2023 during the press tour in October. Mincy said equipment delays have made it difficult. He said they are now waiting for a coil for the rooftop air handlers and a cap for the roof parapet. They had received a coil for the handler, but it was damaged when received. Once those items arrive and are installed, construction will be finished.

When Wyoming State Inspectors were at the facility in November, they told Mincy there needed to be more exit signs installed, this has now been completed. State Inspectors will be returning the week of January 9, 2023 for another walk-through. After the facility earns state certification, Mincy said it will take about a month to open the clinic for patients.

Mincy said that they partnered with Aligned Providers Wyoming (APW) to staff the majority of their needs. APW is an emergency, urgent care and hospitalist medicine management group that was formed in 2016 to serve Cheyenne Regional Medical Center's emergency department. They now serve more than 13 hospital contracts across Wyoming and Nebraska, including Ivinson Memorial Hospital and Memorial Hospital of Carbon County. APW has signed three providers for NPVMC including Reggie M. Gillens–nurse practitioner, Steven L. Martin–physician assistant and Christopher Shores–advanced practice nurse practitioner.

Mincy was asked about the housing issue that the Valley has been facing. Mincy said although it may be a challenge, there has been a response from the rental property owners in the area who told him they won't rent their house until he tells them he doesn't need it for his staff. Mincy said Dr. Fitzsimmons, the current medical director of the Platte Valley Clinic found housing through NVPMC, as did Eva Marie Popelka, the chief operating officer for the NPVMC. Mincy said the feel very fortunate people in the community have been very supportive of this project and he currently has five rentals on his list that are available to rent.

Mincy was asked what types of people are looking to work here. He said most people are researching the area before they come here. Many applicants are looking for small towns, there is a big difference between urban medicine and small town medicine.

Mincy said they are interviewing people that are not only qualified for the position, but also will be a good fit for the community. The Advanced Practice Providers (APP) they are hiring are highly trained for emergency needs and inpatient services. They are trained in Cheyenne and will be able to rotate back to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center for a week or two to keep their skills sharp.

Mincy said the one department they are having a problem with staffing is Diagnostic Imagining, radiology and X-ray department. There is a nationwide shortage of these technologists. There are three candidates that will be interviewed soon. One challenge is finding a mammography technician. Mammography is a unique certification.

Mincy said that they plan to operate as a critical access hospital. According to Rural Health Information Hub, A Critical Access Hospital (CAH) receives more funding from government medical programs than a larger, urban hospital. CAH was created by congress through the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 in response to over 400 rural hospital closures during the 1980s and early 1990s.

The CAH designation is designed to reduce the financial vulnerability of rural hospitals and improve access to healthcare by keeping essential services in rural communities. To accomplish this goal, CHA receive certain benefits, such as cost-based reimbursement for Medicare services. To be eligible for CAH designation, hospitals must meet certain criteria including: have 25 or fewer acute care inpatient beds; be located more than 35 miles from another hospital; maintain an annual average length of stay of 96 hours or less for acute care patients and provide 24/7 emergency care services.

Mincy addressed questions about air ambulance services. He said they have an approved landing area on the back side of the hospital. The regional director for Classic Air and the CEO from Classic Air came out to visit the site. Classic Air has a helicopter in Rawlins that can be here in about 15-20 minutes.

Mincy said we also have access to two fixed wing aircraft which can fly in more extreme weather. They come out of Craig and can be on the ground at the Saratoga Airport in about 30 minutes. There are fixed wings that fly out of Riverton, Wyoming, as well and can be here in less than hour.

South Central Wyoming Emergency Medical Services (SCWEMS) will partner with NPVMC to a certain extent. Mincy said having the NPVMC here in Saratoga will greatly decrease the amount of time that SCWEMS crews spend on a call.

However, in retrospect, it will increase the demand for other types of transport. Plans to incorporate SCWEMS have been discussed. The SCWEMS joint powers board would have to make the decision to hand over the ambulance service to the hospital. Mincy said the critical access benefits would then extend to the ambulance service.

The NPVMC facility will make it possible for seniors to continue to live in the valley and receive first rate medical care without the need to travel on bad roads and long distances. The facility will bring over residents from the Saratoga Care Center, as well as offer a Primary care clinic, 24 hour walk-in emergency care and advanced imaging; including X-ray, ultrasound, digital mammography, DEXA scan, CT and mobile MRI.

The NPVMC will house 3-5 hospital beds, 22 nursing beds, full time doctors, mid-level providers including paramedics,physical occupational therapy. There will be visiting specialists, and an on-site laboratory with a high tech blood cell analyzer that will save time in diagnosing disease and illness, cutting down the time of treatment considerably. Finding the correct antibiotic can typically take 48 hours or more, but the microbiology analyzer will cut the time to less than 24 hours. This machine can also identify cancer. The NVPMC will also have the ability to identify troponin levels, which can indicate that someone has recently had a heart attack, alerting the doctor medical intervention is needed immediately. All of these amenities saves time. A few pints of blood will also be banked.

Once the NPVMC opens its doors, the Platte Valley Clinic will move from the Corbett Medical Building into the NPVMC. Mincy said the clinic is already state certified. To avoid confusion, patients will not visit the clinic's new location until the entire facility is complete.