Congressman John Moolenaar (R-Midland) toured Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital recently and met with several members of the leadership team to discuss rural health care issues as well as see first-hand investments being made by the hospital that will directly impact patient care.
During the visit, Moolenaar visited the hospital pharmacy where the importance of the federal 340B drug pricing program was discussed.
The 340B program is a budget-neutral government program that requires pharmaceutical companies to sell discounted drugs to hospitals like Munson with the cost savings being reinvested into patient care and support. Annually, Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital realizes over $2 million in savings from the 340B program.
Moolenaar also toured the Cadillac Hospital Emergency Department, which is undergoing renovations to improve capacity and patient care. During this part of the tour, the congressman heard from physicians about the role emergency departments play in the opioid crisis and the gaps that still exist in behavioral health care services.
Finally, the congressman toured the site of the new Cadillac Hospital Urgent Care Clinic, which is expected to be completed this summer.
“To deliver the best care to our patients, it is important that we reserve the emergency department for those most critical care cases and provide greater access for patients to urgent care in an outpatient setting, such as our new Urgent Care Clinic,‘ said Tonya Smith, president of Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital.
“We appreciate Congressman Moolenaar’s support for our federal advocacy priorities including the 340B drug pricing program that have a significant impact on the patients we serve,‘ said Smith. “Both the Emergency Department renovation and the Urgent Care Clinic project are examples of how Cadillac Hospital leverages the savings from the 340B program to invest in our ability to deliver the highest quality of care to the patients we serve.‘
Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital looks forward to celebrating the completion of both projects this summer and will be holding a ribbon cutting for the Urgent Care Clinic in late June.
To read the full article, visit Cadillac News here.
