ST. PAUL, Minn. – In a letter sent to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure Tuesday, Senator Grant Hauschild (DFL-Hermantown) and Representative Roger Skraba (R-Ely) urged immediate action to maintain the Critical Access Hospital designation for Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital (EBCH). This designation, which provides additional federal funding and support to EBCH, are essential to the well-being of thousands of people in the Northland.
“Rural hospitals face an array of challenges that make federal support and funding essential. Without this designation, their ability to deliver high-quality care is jeopardized, threatening the health of thousands of Minnesotans,” said Sen. Hauschild. “I am strongly urging the federal government to approve this request for reclassification to ensure they can continue to deliver the care residents of Northern Minnesota need.”
In Tuesday’s letter, Sen. Hauschild and Rep. Skraba laid out the case for EBCH maintaining this designation thanks to its meeting specific state and federal criteria. This includes its status as a hospital located outside the seven-county metropolitan area and within a community of fewer than 15,000 people.
“By any definition these hospitals are in rural communities serving populations spread across the region,” said Rep. Skraba. “Their role as the only health care option for thousands of Minnesotans cannot be overstated – which is why their reclassification is necessary and urgently required.”
