Catch Up With Chuck | Episode 3

Rural Futures Institute Author

11/09/2017 Added

6 Plays

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Today, on Catch Up With Chuck, Chuck is joined by Nemaha County Hospital CEO Marty Fattig, who serves as a RFI Community Innovation Fellow. Access to quality health care is one of the critical issues in determining a rural community’s capacity for thriving.

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[00:00:10.425]Good morning.
[00:00:11.478]Welcome back to Catch Up with Chuck,
[00:00:13.527]a periodic live broadcast from the Rural Futures Institute
[00:00:17.518]at the University of Nebraska.
[00:00:19.734]I'm Chuck Shroeder.
[00:00:20.622]I'm executive director of the Rural Futures Institute.
[00:00:24.031]Today we're gonna be talking about rural health care.
[00:00:27.803]One thing we know is that access to quality health care
[00:00:31.780]is a critical issue in determining
[00:00:34.268]a rural community's capacity to thrive.
[00:00:37.469]So it's a key concern for the Rural Futures Institute
[00:00:41.215]and we're gonna be talking about that.
[00:00:42.704]Now, if you have questions or comments as we go,
[00:00:45.231]I'm gonna ask you to post them.
[00:00:46.704]We'll try to respond during the broadcast.
[00:00:49.094]If we can't, we'll get back to you one way or the other.
[00:00:51.836]Well listen, I'm so pleased, joining me today
[00:00:55.543]is a friend and colleague, Marty Fattig,
[00:00:58.330]who is really on the frontline of this very important issue
[00:01:02.466]for rural Nebraska and rural America.
[00:01:04.855]He's both a CEO of a successful rural hospital
[00:01:08.636]in Auburn, Nebraska, but Marty is also
[00:01:11.854]a very important voice at both the state and national level
[00:01:15.606]on both policy and the practice of delivering
[00:01:19.874]effective rural health care.
[00:01:22.579]And I want to quickly add that Marty is,
[00:01:25.332]were proud to say, part of the inaugural class
[00:01:28.636]of RFI fellows.
[00:01:30.668]So Marty, thanks for joining us and talk just a little bit
[00:01:34.048]about your really interesting background.
[00:01:36.219]Well thanks, Chuck.
[00:01:37.052]And it has been a real pleasure to be involved
[00:01:38.670]with the Rural Futures Institute and to be a fellow
[00:01:41.590]for that matter.
[00:01:42.779]I grew up in a small town in Wallace, Nebraska,
[00:01:44.728]out in southwest of North Platte.
[00:01:46.581]I tell my city friends that I graduated third in my class
[00:01:50.585]and didn't make the top 10%, to give you an idea
[00:01:53.317]about the size of school I graduated from.
[00:01:56.608]After that, I went to North Platte Junior College,
[00:01:59.226]frankly because I was poor and I could afford to go
[00:02:01.514]to Junior College.
[00:02:03.466]With Kearney got a degree in medical technology,
[00:02:06.370]which is clinical laboratory science.
[00:02:08.388]Worked in a laboratory for a number of years.
[00:02:10.637]Went to work in Grant, Nebraska.
[00:02:12.146]Worked in Grant for 16 years,
[00:02:13.833]then went to Scottsbluff for seven years,
[00:02:16.743]to McCook for four and now I've been in Auburn
[00:02:18.641]for 15 years, all of it in rural health care
[00:02:22.676]because I like rural.
[00:02:24.816]Well Marty, you have demonstrated that
[00:02:27.221]a small town kid can have an impact
[00:02:30.199]and not only at the community level,
[00:02:32.302]but state and national.
[00:02:34.521]Well listen, you're involved in a number of initiatives
[00:02:36.963]relative to rural health care, but recently
[00:02:39.513]you and I have been working together on a taskforce
[00:02:42.819]that you assembled.
[00:02:43.853]A very broad based taskforce addressing the question
[00:02:47.610]how do we effectively deliver health care
[00:02:50.826]in rural communities in an era
[00:02:52.493]where there may be fewer hospitals, and by the way,
[00:02:55.498]how do we do that without simply turning to government
[00:02:58.571]for more and more investments?
[00:03:00.432]So could you talk a little bit about that taskforce?
[00:03:02.524]Certainly, that taskforce has been a lot of fun
[00:03:05.889]and been very, I think, enlightening
[00:03:08.644]about some of the ideas that have come out of it.
[00:03:11.761]It all started when a friend of mine came to me.
[00:03:15.022]She is actually the president
[00:03:17.512]of the Nebraska Rural Health Association
[00:03:19.410]and said, Marty, how are we gonna maintain health care
[00:03:23.573]in these rural communities if they can no longer
[00:03:25.944]support a hospital?
[00:03:28.008]And I said, I don't know, but we probably oughta find out.
[00:03:31.545]And Leslie Marsh out in Lexington asked me that question
[00:03:34.973]and since that time, we have put together
[00:03:38.916]a group of colleagues from various backgrounds
[00:03:41.572]across the state.
[00:03:43.799]A lot of the association type people
[00:03:45.718]that deal in health care.
[00:03:47.593]The Medical Association, The Hospital Association,
[00:03:50.713]The Long-term Care Association.
[00:03:53.113]We've involved Academia and the Rural Futures Institute
[00:03:57.442]and the Nebraska Rural Health Association
[00:04:00.358]along with some other colleagues that I know
[00:04:01.979]are just great policy and good thinkers.
[00:04:05.486]Yeah, it was like yourself
[00:04:06.799]that are progressive and doing cool things.
[00:04:10.404]Yeah, exactly.
[00:04:11.237]Yeah, we have that and we have to have some of those people
[00:04:13.368]in there too, I guess.
[00:04:15.992]I have been so impressed with the diversity
[00:04:17.960]of the group you put together, Marty.
[00:04:20.103]And it's led to some really high quality conversations
[00:04:24.287]that get down to how do we really answer this question.
[00:04:27.320]Well one of the potentials that was identified
[00:04:30.950]really came out in our last meeting last week,
[00:04:33.884]is the potential for the creation
[00:04:35.532]of regional collaborations, cooperatives, if you will,
[00:04:39.918]which is a big deal here in Nebraska
[00:04:43.010]that can strategically share resources
[00:04:46.180]in order to achieve cost effective,
[00:04:50.230]as well as people effective solutions.
[00:04:53.682]There's some real world examples going on
[00:04:55.342]and I thought you might want to talk about those.
[00:04:57.513]Well, a lot of these examples are just in their infancy,
[00:05:00.846]but we are getting started.
[00:05:03.538]I think it was very useful for this group
[00:05:07.499]that we're meeting with, being rural people,
[00:05:10.882]they said, why can't we do what agriculture has done
[00:05:14.862]and develop these cooperatives,
[00:05:16.545]which have been quite successful in rural areas,
[00:05:19.069]especially in Nebraska.
[00:05:20.728]So that is actually being done out in the central
[00:05:24.022]part of the state.
[00:05:26.212]Holdrege and Lexington and Minden
[00:05:29.767]and Alma and Cambridge have formed a cooperative out there
[00:05:34.206]and they're doing some things together.
[00:05:35.770]They've been together a little over a year
[00:05:37.799]and they're starting to do some work together.
[00:05:40.570]Jim Orrick in New York hospital is talking about
[00:05:43.711]getting together with some of his colleagues
[00:05:45.359]and seeing what they can do collaboratively.
[00:05:48.105]Whose had some success previously.
[00:05:50.160]Previous success when he was at McCook
[00:05:52.301]working with the Oberlin Hospital.
[00:05:54.021]Even across state lines this works.
[00:05:56.314]And I have the intention that I've been sending out emails
[00:05:59.934]and talking with CEOs in southeastern Nebraska
[00:06:03.439]to see if we can get together and talk about
[00:06:04.794]some things we can do collaboratively.
[00:06:07.993]Marty, what I thought was especially interesting
[00:06:09.891]in those conversations is we got down to okay,
[00:06:12.552]what are the key elements and two things came out.
[00:06:16.218]Number one, the effective use of technology.
[00:06:19.105]We talk a lot these days about Telehealth
[00:06:21.938]and its potentials.
[00:06:23.865]I mean, ranging from record sharing to virtual reality.
[00:06:27.421]You know, from diagnostics to ways in which
[00:06:31.069]patients can stay in their home longer, self-monitoring.
[00:06:34.687]So the technology is important.
[00:06:36.710]But what also came out is, you know what,
[00:06:40.382]it's all about leadership.
[00:06:41.770]It still comes down to if we're gonna create
[00:06:43.644]regional collaborations.
[00:06:45.362]It comes down to leaders who are able
[00:06:49.249]to build relationships, who are able to build
[00:06:52.549]trust relationships.
[00:06:54.704]Across borders, that we know historically
[00:06:57.191]are not easy to cross.
[00:06:58.933]But those seem to be the key elements.
[00:07:01.207]Am I on track?
[00:07:02.227]You're exactly on track, Chuck.
[00:07:05.147]The RFI talks a lot about just being a high tech,
[00:07:08.444]high touch time in our life
[00:07:12.976]and in development of rural areas.
[00:07:17.250]We see the same thing in health care
[00:07:20.635]that we talk in health care, I was just in a meeting
[00:07:25.037]on the east coast the other day
[00:07:26.674]and they talked about the successes in a hospital
[00:07:33.514]many times are 80%
[00:07:39.743]based on process, 20% based on technology
[00:07:43.436]and 100% based on culture.
[00:07:45.964]So I don't think we can forget that culture piece either
[00:07:49.179]because it is so important in whatever we do.
[00:07:51.903]I've heard you say that and, by the way,
[00:07:53.272]I've been to Nemaha County Hospital
[00:07:55.047]and seen it demonstrated just hanging around there with you.
[00:07:58.755]The kind of collaborative relationship
[00:08:02.662]that you've established, not only with your staff
[00:08:05.675]from docs to janitorial services,
[00:08:09.204]but the relationship you have with your patients.
[00:08:11.856]They see that and it influences the way they feel
[00:08:14.810]about their health care.
[00:08:17.304]Listen, those of you that have seen
[00:08:19.363]the Rural Futures Institute's strategic plan
[00:08:22.410]that we developed early this year,
[00:08:25.451]you know that our big hairy audacious goal
[00:08:29.105]is a thriving high touch, high tech future
[00:08:33.240]for Nebraska and the Great Plains by 2040.
[00:08:36.337]We are so pleased to be working with leaders
[00:08:38.719]like Marty Fattig and a key element of that
[00:08:41.170]in the health care realm and, by the way, it goes beyond,
[00:08:43.482]but who are demonstrating on a daily basis
[00:08:46.727]the high tech, high touch approach,
[00:08:48.636]how it can be done effectively and, by the way,
[00:08:52.446]create a genuine brighter future for rural.
[00:08:56.362]So we're gonna be collaborating in the coming months.
[00:08:58.328]We had a little meeting before this broadcast this morning
[00:09:00.975]talking about how the Rural Futures Institute,
[00:09:04.717]working with Marty and others in the health care,
[00:09:07.418]community leadership, cooperative realm,
[00:09:11.341]can in the coming months do the three things
[00:09:13.210]that we think we do well at RFI.
[00:09:15.480]Number one, convening diverse talents
[00:09:17.784]around a critical issue.
[00:09:19.557]Number two, contributing to the future by highlighting
[00:09:23.149]some important potential solutions.
[00:09:26.306]And number three, celebrating rural successes.
[00:09:28.998]Really elevating the voice of rural for those folks
[00:09:32.415]that are out there making a difference.
[00:09:34.705]Marty, you're a leader who is helping
[00:09:37.030]to genuinely build hope for rural communities.
[00:09:40.315]We're proud to be associated with ya.
[00:09:42.424]Thanks for what ya do for your involvement
[00:09:44.365]with the Rural Futures Institute
[00:09:46.048]and let me give you a chance to say
[00:09:47.759]whatever else you might like to today.
[00:09:49.759]Well thanks for this opportunity, Chuck.
[00:09:51.572]It's been great to get together with you again
[00:09:53.311]and we always have a good time when we get together.
[00:09:55.592]But I think it's really important to note
[00:09:57.079]that you have done a lot of work on the key elements
[00:10:00.483]of building a successful community,
[00:10:02.596]a vibrant, progressive community.
[00:10:06.349]And what I have learned in my association with you
[00:10:09.842]and with Rural Futures Institute
[00:10:11.468]is those same elements are vitally important
[00:10:14.559]to successful health care organizations.
[00:10:18.416]We need to do exactly the same things
[00:10:20.559]that you try to develop in rural communities.
[00:10:25.180]So it's important, I think, that we work together
[00:10:27.399]for the success of both our organizations.
[00:10:31.921]Collaboration is the key. It sure is.
[00:10:33.764]So listen, I just encourage you to stay in touch
[00:10:36.093]with the Rural Futures Institute through our
[00:10:39.343]newly redesigned website.
[00:10:41.009]We're pretty proud of that.
[00:10:42.919]And know that we're gonna be back
[00:10:44.481]with Catch Up with Chuck in weeks ahead.
[00:10:46.921]Again, looking at people and places,
[00:10:50.970]innovators, leaders who are making rural communities
[00:10:55.491]the best choice for worthwhile living.
[00:10:57.746]Thanks for being with us.

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Catch Up With Chuck | Episode 3

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