Law enforcement search for armed suspect, Vance Boelter, in fatal shooting of Minnesota lawmaker.

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Doing nothing to deal with the financially-strapped Virginia Regional Medical Center can't be an option, Virginia Mayor Steve Peterson said last Friday during an online forum on the future of the hospital - and rural health care in general.

"This is really a difficult situation," Peterson said in 

the forum sponsored by Minnesota Public Radio News and the Iron Range's Hometown Focus

. "If we as city leaders do nothing, what is the outcome? I fear a lot worse for all."

Peterson was joined by administrators at the hospital, including the hospital CEO, Bill Smith. We also invited those who could speak about rural health care in a broader sense, such as Al Vogt, chairman of the Minnesota Wilderness Health Care Coalition, a consortium of hospitals in northeast Minnesota.

Vogt said that when asked what it means for an independent hospital, like the city-owned Virginia facility, to merge with a larger system, he said:

The conversation continued with Jeff Tucker, president of Integrity Health Network, an organization based in Duluth that is working to keep hospitals like VRMC independent.

But Peterson feels as though Virginia city leaders have no choice but to explore merger options. That's why the city is soliciting offers. This worries employees of the hospital. Sue (who didn't give a last name) said she's worked at the Virginia hospital for several years and said this it is "a community hospital, not a big business."

 I bit later in the online forum, a commentator named Charles asked Peterson:

 Others in the online forum tried to address the fears of a hospital losing its community connection when it merges with a bigger system.

And still, people in the Virginia area needed assurances, like Anne (no last name given):

Let's explore this question of whether the community needs will get tossed aside if an independent hospital merges. What's your point of view?

Would a cash-strapped, city-owned hospital in the Iron Range lose its community spirit if it were to merge? "Not on my watch," said Virginia Mayor Steve Peterson during an online forum on rural health care in Iron Range.

Hospital mergers: Is it worth losing the local character?

Go Deeper.

Like this?