Published November 4, 2007 in the Hibbing Daily Tribune
So, I was watching the news the other day. The broadcast presented analysis of next year’s presidential campaign, next biennium’s state budget and even the 2010 Minnesota governor’s race, an election so far away that some of its voters cannot yet legally drive a car. But little of the talk focused on anything that could be done right now. Politics has always been a year-round activity but that seems to have changed recently. It used to be that the campaigning part of politics would occasionally cease so that work could be done. Sure, there’d be partisan squabbles, but bills would “pass” and a “governor” or “president” would sign them. Now it’s just one big act of theatre, each party posturing for a better bargaining position next election.
That’s too bad. Government’s main purpose is to
serve the
people in all ways that the private sector and market can’t. That
includes
highways, public works, education and, more than ever, health care. And
it
seems we’re closer than you’d think to being able to solve some basic
service
issues, especially on health care.
On Oct. 18 the Minnesota House Health and Human Services committee came to Hibbing to review issues related to rural health care and evaluate health care needs on the Iron Range. I spoke with Rep. Paul Thissen (DFL-Minneapolis), the committee’s chair, about a week after his committee left town.
Thissen said he was impressed with Hibbing’s
health care
services. In fact, he said that the way most people on the Iron Range
receive
health services – visiting a family doctor at a clinic before being
referred to
specialists for larger or unique health problems – is widely considered
to be
the future model for medical care in Minnesota. But Thissen said he
learned
that the Range’s strength in this area is also its weakness. “Primary
care
doctors should be at the center of our health system, nurses as well,”
said
Thissen. “But they should also be paid a little better which would help
rural
areas recruit more doctors. Recruitment was at the top of everyone’s
minds at
the hearing in Hibbing.”
That hearing included testimony from dentists like Dr. Jerry Pederson, physicians like Dr. Jan Baldwin, health experts, administrators and others who share the view that the Range needs qualified people and has a hard time reeling them in.
Lisa Vesel, public information officer for the
Fairview
system in Hibbing, reiterated the challenge of recruiting medical
professionals
to the Iron Range, especially physicians and pharmacists.
“It’s not just (the hospital) that factors in candidates’ decisions, it’s the community,” said Vesel. She said Fairview Mesaba and other clinics have had success with doctors who grew up in or near the area, but that there aren’t enough locally-raised doctors to meet the demand.
As a lifelong Iron Ranger I’ve earned the right
to say
that living here is wonderful, but also strange and, for newcomers,
often
uninviting. It’s hard to sustain cultural activities outside of the
outdoor
traditions of fishing, hunting and riding mechanical things.
Additionally,
doctors often have spouses who are educated professionals. These
couples aren’t
just looking for one job; they’re looking for two. As strong as the
Range
medical sector might be, opportunities outside of mining and medical
work are
more limited.
In the short term, Thissen says he plans to forge some kind of state partnership with rural medical organizations to assist in recruiting and retaining talented medical professionals. In many ways, we are lucky on the Range that our medical sector has largely achieved the efficiency of care delivery that metro area hospitals and clinics have yet to accomplish. Ultimately, though, our quality of care will depend not on the phone calls of professional head hunters, but the quality of our communities: our schools, roads, technological infrastructure and – most of all – our attitudes. Some of that can be fixed at a ballot box, but most of it is just good, old fashioned hard work. Iron Rangers have already proven they can handle hard work when they need to.
We need to.