In our past Focus on the Foundations we have talked about the history and purpose of the Faulkton Area Medical Center Foundation, what it means for Faulkton Area Medical Center to be a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) and Rural Health Clinic (RHC), and the role that a medical doctor plays in a CAH and RHC; this month share a bit about how FAMC has already started and will continue to develop a plan for recruiting a medical doctor. 

When the time comes to actively search for a MD/DO FAMC will explore multiple avenues for recruitment.  Ads for a medical doctor will not only be posted in various newspapers and social media; FAMC will also contact various national medical organizations to post the opportunity on their job boards. In addition, we will promote the positives of rural living, our South Dakota lifestyle, and all that FAMC and the Faulkton area have to offer to pique a candidate’s interest. 

Currently Dr. Bartholomew started some discussions to raise awareness to 15 medical schools from Utah to Michigan regarding what Faulkton has to offer and the potential for scholarship.  These discussions have been well received by the schools. Dr. Bartholomew has been able to meet with a few Deans and they are excited to share the opportunity with their students.

Our “Focus on the Foundation” for the month of April, we are going to focus in on what a medical doctor and Medical Director does here at Faulkton Area Medical Center (FAMC). FAMC is fortunate to have a variety of care providers on our medical staff team; we have two physician assistants, one certified nurse practitioner, one family nurse practitioner, and two medical doctors.  

Providing patient care is the main reason that we have our medical doctors on staff.  The ability for FAMC to provide quality health care that achieves the best health for those we serve.  Our medical doctors perform a wide variety of services from well-child checks, annual examinations, medication monitoring, post operative care, diagnostic care, lesion removals, emergency medicine, and endoscopic care.  

 Supervisory roles are another key element that medical doctors play in rural hospitals, as many critical access hospital and rural health clinics have advanced practice providers.  It is essential t to have a physician to provide oversight and mentorship to those providers.  

The medical director role has numerous administrative duties within the organization that extend beyond patient care.  Duties include working with leadership to ensure the delivery of quality healthcare across the board at FAMC.  They oversee the medical staff and are involved with policy development and maintenance as well as compliance, infection control, quality improvement and state and federal regulations.  

While all the positions that we have within our organization play a role in how we can offer quality care to our patients, we do need medical doctors.  FAMC’s vision is for our community to achieve optimal health through unparalleled compassion, service, and trust.

The Faulkton Area Medical Center holds a designation of Critical Access Hospital (CAH) from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS).  To be considered as an eligible hospital, hospitals must meet the following conditions to obtain CAH designation: have 25 or fewer acute care inpatient beds, be located more than 35 miles from another hospital, maintain an annual average length of stay of 96 hours or less for acute care patients, and provide 24/7 emergency services.  The status of CAH does not mean that fewer services can be offered compared to other facilities. 

Our clinic has a designation of a Rural Health Clinic (RHC); which means that our clinic is located in a rural area that is designated as a shortage area. Currently, there are about 4,500 RHCs nationwide providing primary care and preventive health services in underserved rural areas. Approved providers for an RHC include medical doctors, doctor of osteopathy, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified nurse midwives, clinical psychologists, and licensed clinical social workers.  Rural Health Clinic visits must be medically necessary; medical or mental health visits, qualified preventive health visits, or face-to-face visits between the patient and RHC practitioner.  

FAMC is proud to be part of the Faulkton community.  Our facility can provide a wide range of services from primary care to end-of-life services.  Our providers are all family medicine practitioners some with home health and hospice certifications.  With a variety of services offered we can provide well-child examinations with immunizations, medication monitoring, diabetic education, rehabilitative therapy services, annual examinations, DOT physicals, skilled nursing services, infusion therapy, and chemotherapy administration.  

Since the development of the FAMC Foundation, the hospital and clinic has continued to provide services and expand with their financial support.  Your donations to the FAMCF allow us the opportunities to support the purchases of state-of-the-art equipment so that we can provide quality healthcare that achieves the best health for those we serve.  

Faulkton Area Medical Center’s vision is for our community to achieve optimal health through unparalleled compassion, service, and trust.

Fast forward to 2022, the Foundation has partnered with Dr. Ken and Twyla Bartholomew in fundraising efforts for a scholarship to someday award to a medical student interested in family practice and rural medicine. It is our hope that with this scholarship, FAMC can recruit a medical doctor when the need arises. 

With this partnership, the Bartholomew’s have pledged to match the first $50,000 raised in private donations. We are seeking the support of the community in helping us reach this $50,000 goal by the end of 2022. Since the inception of this scholarship program, private donors and businesses have already contributed over $35,000!

The Faulkton Area Medical Center and the FAMC Foundation are together, planning for the future healthcare needs of Faulkton area. The long-term goal of this partnership is to create a perpetual funding source, approximately $1,000,000, for future doctors that will undoubtedly be needed to continue to provide healthcare services at Faulkton Area Medical Center.