Activists see RMCHCS changes as positive, but just a start

Changes are in the works at Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services in response to community protests and the threat of losing the hospital’s lease with McKinley County.

One change that may help is that the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has designated RMCHCS’s College Clinic as a Rural Health Clinic facility, which is intended to make healthcare more accessible in areas where medical care is in short supply. CMS also reimburses RHCs at higher rates than non-RHC providers.

CMS has clout because it is not only a regulator, but also the single largest payer for health care in the...

1. RHC (Rural Health Clinic) Operational Roll-Out - this will financially benefit the hospital and the program will allow for reinvestment into expanding quality patient care in the community.

2. Hospitalist Program - this revamping of the program will allow for reduced costs to provide service and increase quality care.

3. Documentation, Education, and Reconciliation Process pre/post-Cerner - this is to increase our HCAHPS scores, and employee and physician satisfaction and improve quality care navigating into a new computer system.

4. 340b Optimization - this program allows for hospitals with a high Medicare and Medicaid patient population to provide financial benefits serving...

Nightly Native dances have been a part of Gallup’s summer tradition for years, but like many longstanding events returning from a pandemic hiatus, changes are in the works.

As part of the Gallup Cultural Center’s city-sponsored refresh, the formerly Nightly Indian Dances will return for three nights a week at a new arena under construction there.

That’s not good news for restaurant owner James Rich, who’s unhappy that the dances will leave Courthouse Plaza. For years he’s kept Camille’s Sidewalk Café open in the evenings to serve patrons who come to the plaza to watch the dances.

It’s not just that the dances are moving, he said, but that business owners around the...

Coaching legend drops in for a visit