Keys to the kingdom

• Nathan Diebenow | Meridian Tribune Goodall-Witcher Healthcare CEO Adam Willmann gave a presentation on the Clifton hospital’s successful maternity care programs during the 2024 Rural Obstetrics Innovations Summit in Clifton on Thursday, March 21.
• Nathan Diebenow | Meridian Tribune Representatives from over 20 organizations working in maternity care across rural America met at Market at the Mill in Clifton for the 2024 Rural Obstetrics Innovations Summit hosted by Goodall-Witcher Healthcare on Thursday, March 21. Each participant received a free cowboy hat from Capital Hatters of Stephenville -- thanks to the TORCH Foundation.

A Who’s Who of maternity healthcare specialists from rural areas across America met in Clifton for the 2024 Rural Obstetrics Innovations Summit on Thursday, March 21.

Representatives from over 20 organizations shared and listened to stories about how hospitals, doctors practicing obstetrics, and their respective communities teamed up to ensure mothers and their newborn children receive the best care possible in rural America.

Ben Anderson of Hutchinson Regional Medical Center in Hutchison, Kansas, said that the day-long summit operated like an “innovation potluck.”

“Everyone brings their dish, and everybody brings the recipe. There’s no ticket. There’s no cost to get in. You got to bring that innovation,” he said.

The summit participants heard case studies from six organizations providing solutions to obstetrics care in their rural areas of the United States.

The summit was the brainchild of several organizations, including the T.L.L. Temple Foundation based in Lufkin, Texas.

Kevin Lambing, Senior Program Officer at the Temple Foundation, said the summit came to Clifton, Bosque County, Texas, because its hospital –Goodall-Witcher Healthcare– is successfully delivering babies at a low volume in a rural setting.

“In this country, only 40 percent of rural hospitals today deliver babies, so all we’re hearing is ‘You can’t. You can’t. You can’t.’ We come to Clifton, Texas, and we hear, ‘You can,’” he said. “We know what’s happening, so we wanted to tell the story that you can do it.”

Anderson added, “You can’t tell the United States story without rural Texas. It’s an essential part of the fabric of the U.S.”

John Henderson, CEO/President of Texas Organization of Rural Community Hospitals (TORCH), pointed out that 27 rural hospitals closed in Texas since 2010, and none of them were delivering babies when they closed.

He said that Goodall-Witcher has made its OB services work financially where other rural hospitals have not in the state.

“[Goodall-Witcher CEO] Adam Willmann understands the bigger picture and what he wants to be about for this community,” Henderson said.

Anderson concurred, noting it takes an administrator with a team that understands the “whole ecosystem” and listens to their community stakeholders.

“The maternity care program doesn’t make money on its own, but moms hold the keys to the kingdom, so you develop the system around moms,” he said.

Willmann further explained, “Every time we have a baby, we have a new patient. Whereas when the baby goes to Waco and is delivered there, we lose a patient for an average of about 12 years.”

“They keep going to their pediatrician for all the check-ups, and it takes the mom to get tired around the time they’re in middle school and attendance matters,” he continued.

The six organizations giving presentations included Southcentral Foundation (Alaska), Sterling Regional Medical Center (Colorado), Mahaska Health (Iowa), Fairview Hospital (Massachusetts), UNC Chatham (North Carolina), and Goodall-Witcher Healthcare (Texas).

In addition, the participants heard a presentation on the findings of a Rural Texas Obstetrics Study by Eric Shell and Jeff Sommer of Stroudwater Associates – a project funded by the Temple Foundation.

“[Stroudwater] looked at the financials and the places where they’re doing it successfully – both in states that have value-based and non-value-based Medicaid reimbursement. There is a big, big difference,” Lambing said.

Lambing further explained that this past session, the Texas Legislature approved an addition $1,500 to assist rural obstetrics services in Texas.

Representatives from federal agencies and national government also turned out for the summit, such as the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, the National Rural Health Association, and American Association of Birth Centers (virtual), the office of U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions (TX-17).

Attendees also included several funding organizations, such as Grantmakers in Health and Millbank Memorial Fund, faith-based groups like Methodist Healthcare Ministries (virtual), and other hospitals in the U.S. South like Arkansas Rural Health Partnership (virtual).

Texas-based organizations in attendance included Texas Organization of Rural Community Hospitals (TORCH), University of Texas at Arlington (virtual), as well as other universities, like Suffolk University and the University of Colorado.

As a gesture of Texas hospitality, each of the summit’s participants received a free cowboy hat from Capital Hatters of Stephenville, Texas – thanks to the TORCH Foundation.