ROCHELLE — On Thursday, Nov. 21, Rochelle Community Hospital celebrated National Rural Health Day. Members of RCH’s Wellness Committee handed out gifts and healthy snacks to employees, who also took pictures and participated in a contest by providing responses on why rural health is important to them.
RCH Wellness Committee Members, including Marketing & Public Relations Specialist Kirby Heward, Chief Human Resources Officer Denise Bauer, Human Resources Generalist Lorena Hueramo, Human Resources Assistant Brenndon Garcia and Dietician Janelle Stein spoke with the News-Leader about the day.
“We decided to have our own celebration since we are rural and a small community hospital,” Heward said. “It's a day about focusing on the reasons why we do what we do and where we do it. Our presence here also is an infrastructure for the community as well because we provide jobs as well as care and a lot of things that help the population thrive and continue to be sustainable right here in Rochelle.”
Garcia said being in a rural community means a more personal connection with patients compared to larger hospitals. Hueramo said she feels blessed to work at a rural hospital and takes pride in helping the community to stay healthy.
Along with caring for its patients in the area, RCH also acts as a large employer.
“Rural health to me means being here for the community,” Bauer said. “Particularly taking care of our patients, but it's also a home for all of the employees. We try to provide the best place we can and be an employer of choice to keep our physicians and employees here. We have great providers and employees and we want to offer a good place to work for them to stay here and take care of friends and family. That's what rural health is about.”
The services RCH provides relieve patients of having to travel out of town or the area to get healthcare. Heward touted the hospital’s services and technology that it offers to the community and Bauer said it’s convenient for aging patients.
“Access is really important,” Stein said. “While working in the multispecialty clinic, I see the specialists that come from Rockford and all over and how many patients come here because they can stay local versus going to those larger towns where it could be intimidating to drive to if they're not familiar with the area or if the weather is bad.”
While some other rural hospitals are currently dealing with financial issues and filling open positions, Bauer said that isn’t the case at RCH, which operates independently and is not owned by a large healthcare company.
During COVID-19, RCH did deal with the shortage of healthcare workers and had as many as 67 openings at one time. It is down to 19 open positions currently.
“A big part of what we're trying to sell is our culture,” Bauer said. “Right now, I don't think we're feeling what other rural hospitals may be feeling with finances and growth. We're always working towards growth and looking at how we can continue to improve the hospital and bring more state-of-the-art equipment here. We have that and our providers are tip top.”
Stein believes “one of the best things” about RCH is the intimate environment and relationships that come as a result of it. She enjoys seeing receptionists greet most patients by name and believes those relationships with patients allow for more holistic care because healthcare providers know more of patients’ stories.
Heward and Hueramo said those relationships are valuable for staff as well.
“A lot of employees that we hire come from big organizations and that's the number one thing they say they're looking for, is a place where they feel at home where they're not just a number,” Hueramo said. “They want to be known by their name and they want to be valued and known by the leaders and their coworkers.”
Bauer said RCH’s size and operations allow for shorter waiting and scheduling times. The RCH Wellness Committee said it takes pride in working at a rural hospital as some others like it have seen difficulties in recent years.
“A lot of hospitals have been taken over by larger organizations,” Bauer said. “We're still independent. Here it's still about family caring for family and friends taking care of friends. It just breeds healthier people.”
