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Hospital leaders tell appropriators previous investments improved quality measures and expanded access
Summary
North Dakota Hospital Association and hospital CEOs described how prior appropriations supported value initiatives, screening programs, behavioral‑health capacity, workforce training and capital expansions that aim to improve preventive care and reduce avoidable admissions.
Hospital leaders told the Senate Appropriations Human Resources Division they used prior state funding and partnerships with the Department of Health and Human Services to expand preventive screening, behavioral‑health access and workforce training across the state.
Dr. Todd Schafer, CEO of Sanford Health in Bismarck and chair of the North Dakota Hospital Association, described initiatives including childhood fluoride treatment in primary‑care settings, universal depression screening integrated into patient intake, and a school‑based tiered behavioral‑health support program that places psychologists in schools. Schafer said those investments and data work with the department support quality measurement and value‑based purchasing efforts.
Why it matters: Schafer argued that preventive screens (e.g., depression, tobacco use, cancer screening) and local behavioral‑health capacity reduce preventable costs and readmissions. He also cited workforce investments: "we provide more than 150,000 clinical hours for training nurses within the 4 walls of our facilities" and other allied‑health training that supplies clinicians statewide.
Jamestown Regional Medical Center CEO Mike Delfes told senators that North Dakota ranks favorably on quality and cost measures among low‑population states and that rural partnerships deliver specialty care locally (orthopedics, urology, obstetrics, oncology, rehab) via coordination among hospitals, health systems and independent providers.
Ending: hospital witnesses thanked the committee for prior support, urged continued investment in programs that link quality and payment, and offered to provide more data on value metrics. No appropriation vote occurred during the hearing.
