Home Health
Dear Editor: When SEARHC announced the closure of their Medicare Certified Home Health Department, Dr. Bruhl was quoted on Raven Radio:
“Bruhl says SEARHC is closing the office mainly due to federal regulations that make operating it challenging and inefficient. He says the regulations are directed at larger cities and larger hospitals with more resources that can more easily sustain full home health programs with separate medical staffs.”
“I would kind of describe it like building an international airport in a location where what you really need is an airstrip,” Bruhl says.
Petersburg Medical Center has had a Medicare Certified Home Health Care agency since 2006. They say that the department doesn’t make money and that regulations have increased over the years. However, they emphasize that Medicare Certified Home Health care is a vital component of the health care they provide to the residents of Petersburg.
Sitka has almost three times the population of Petersburg. How can Petersburg’s hospital provide Medicare Certified Home Health Care to their residents when SEARHC can not?
Michael Litman, Sitka
