Phelps County Regional Medical Center is different. And proud of it.
During an informational session for community and press members, leadership at the center talked numbers, philosophy and followed up with a tour.
PCMRC was again in the spotlight at this past week’s PR Club meeting at Alley Cats, along with other local health providers.
Some statistics and numbers first – the hospital has 200 beds and 1,500-plus employees, with more than 100 of that physicians.
It offers state-of-the-art medical services, with an OB maternity unit, a cardiac catherization lab, a cancer center, a level 3-trauma center, home health and hospice and renal dialysis.
The center offers some unique programs that are typically not found in comparable operations in communities of this size—psych services, an ambulance service, the Smilemobile (for dentistry) and a sleep lab.
There is also a community-care clinic operated in conjunction with the Health Department.
Some other areas that set Phelps County apart – it’s county-owned and has a five-member publicly elected board of directors. One member is elected every year for a five-year term.
Further, it isn’t affiliated with any major health-care system, also rather unusual given the typical collaborations that mark most health-care operations.
Hospital officials note there aren’t any tax monies involved. And the center has evolved into today’s current model after it went tax free in 1951.
The center covers a six-county area, with some 51 percent of its patients coming from outside Phelps County.
Growth areas are expected to come from the Medical Office Building, Imaging Center, outpatient therapy, the Cardiac Cath Lab, and ambulatory surgery.
The PCRMC medical group, was a major investment, but offers yet another unique aspect, with a partnership between the hospital and the doctors.
There is also an outreach Pulaski County Medical Clinic that also serves Cuba and Vienna, too.
While physician recruitment remains the No. 1 concern for the center, as that is with all health-care entities, PCRMC can boast of a number of doctors and services with national renown in cancer treatment and cardiac care.
The level of skill and equipment available marks the local center as a key figure in cutting-edge treatment and technology, easily eclipsing what is typically seen in areas of our size.
And then there’s the mission.
The center’s purpose to be a “safety net provider” and offer treatment and care to all, including the uninsured.
Annual charity care runs about $2.5 million, with uncompensated care ranging to beyond $25 million.
It all adds up to an impressive operation, found right here in Rolla, providing a unique and important beacon for health care in this area of Missouri.
(Floyd Jernigan is publisher of the Rolla Daily News.)
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Phelps County Regional Medical Center is different. And proud of it.
During an informational session for community and press members, leadership at the center talked numbers, philosophy and followed up with a tour.
PCMRC was again in the spotlight at this past week’s PR Club meeting at Alley Cats, along with other local health providers.
Some statistics and numbers first – the hospital has 200 beds and 1,500-plus employees, with more than 100 of that physicians.
It offers state-of-the-art medical services, with an OB maternity unit, a cardiac catherization lab, a cancer center, a level 3-trauma center, home health and hospice and renal dialysis.
The center offers some unique programs that are typically not found in comparable operations in communities of this size—psych services, an ambulance service, the Smilemobile (for dentistry) and a sleep lab.
There is also a community-care clinic operated in conjunction with the Health Department.
Some other areas that set Phelps County apart – it’s county-owned and has a five-member publicly elected board of directors. One member is elected every year for a five-year term.
Further, it isn’t affiliated with any major health-care system, also rather unusual given the typical collaborations that mark most health-care operations.
Hospital officials note there aren’t any tax monies involved. And the center has evolved into today’s current model after it went tax free in 1951.
The center covers a six-county area, with some 51 percent of its patients coming from outside Phelps County.
Growth areas are expected to come from the Medical Office Building, Imaging Center, outpatient therapy, the Cardiac Cath Lab, and ambulatory surgery.
The PCRMC medical group, was a major investment, but offers yet another unique aspect, with a partnership between the hospital and the doctors.
There is also an outreach Pulaski County Medical Clinic that also serves Cuba and Vienna, too.
While physician recruitment remains the No. 1 concern for the center, as that is with all health-care entities, PCRMC can boast of a number of doctors and services with national renown in cancer treatment and cardiac care.
The level of skill and equipment available marks the local center as a key figure in cutting-edge treatment and technology, easily eclipsing what is typically seen in areas of our size.
And then there’s the mission.
The center’s purpose to be a “safety net provider” and offer treatment and care to all, including the uninsured.
Annual charity care runs about $2.5 million, with uncompensated care ranging to beyond $25 million.
It all adds up to an impressive operation, found right here in Rolla, providing a unique and important beacon for health care in this area of Missouri.
(Floyd Jernigan is publisher of the Rolla Daily News.)
