Rural Missouri - July 2019 - 5

| PERSPECTIVES

A little help from our friends
by Caleb Jones | cjones@amec.coop

invested in technology to tell them exactly when
there is an outage and, a lot of times, where along
the line a potential issue is located.
ay back in 1948, Boone Electric CoopYour electric cooperative treats an outage as if
erative Manager R.J. Martin had a bold
it were an all-out war. Our linemen take the havoc
idea. He knew all the good aspects of
nature has wrought and turn it into a personal chaloperating a small utility that was close
lenge to undo the damage as quickly as possible.
to its members and devoted to making service the
Because our employees and directors live in
first priority. But he worried about getting members
the communities they serve, they know what the
back online in the event of a bad storm. Being small
constant flow of electricity means to
was good until you needed lots of linemen.
someone with medical issues. They
Martin pitched the idea of the state's elecknow jobs are at stake, as well as
tric cooperatives coming to the assistance of
quality of life.
a system caught in the path of a bad storm.
You can rest assured that the work
The plan was a good one and it was formally
of restoring power will begin as soon
adopted at the December 1948 board meetas it is safe to get in the field. In fact,
ing of what was then called the Missouri
the safety of our crews is the only
State Rural Electrification Association.
thing that slows down the effort, as
Ironically, in one month Martin would
it should.
be the first manager to call for help. The
I'd like to thank those of you affected
ice storm of January 1949 saw residents
by these storms for your patience and
of central Missouri clearing the shelves at
understanding. Many of you reached
local stores, even buying string and wax to
out to your electric co-op with words
make candles they could use for light until
of encouragement and prayers for the
power was restored.
linemen who were working so hard.
The outage lasted weeks, but it could
These kind thoughts are much apprehave been a lot worse. The emergency assisciated by someone who is exhausted
tance plan brought additional linemen from
but cannot rest until the job is done.
as far away as Chillicothe, Sikeston and
When it comes to help, it's always
Fredericktown.
better to be on the giving end than the
Over the years, this plan has been
receiving end. We never know what
tweaked and updated until today it is a fineMother Nature will send our way, but
ly tuned machine. Just one call to the Assowe do know this: When the lights go
ciation of Missouri Electric Cooperatives in
out, we will too.
Jefferson City speeds help on the way.
This emergency assistance plan was AMEC CEO Caleb Jones shows Governor Mike Parson AMEC's statewide outage map.
Jones is the executive vice president
certainly put to the test this past spring The online tool shows electric cooperative member outages across Missouri in real
as electric cooperatives around the state time. The governor visited crews from Three Rivers Electric who were repairing outages and CEO of the Association of Missouri
Electric Cooperatives.
responded to the damage caused by storm caused by a tornado.

after storm. High winds, lightning, tornadoes and
floods have all ravaged electric cooperative lines,
plunging members into darkness and leaving linemen working long hours.
The days when members would mail postcards to
their co-op to inform them that power was out - as
they did in the early days - are long gone. Members
tell us reliable electricity is just as important as low
rates. Because of this, electric cooperatives have

GUEST COLUMN

Reimagining rural health in Missouri
by Ann Schlueter | info@ruralmissouri.coop

s the chief operating officer of a small
rural hospital in Fairfax, Missouri, I see
the difficulty rural Missourians have in
accessing health care. Community Hospital is fortunate to have strong local support and a
solid financial foundation. Despite the challenges
rural hospitals experience, our hospital has been
able to make the investments needed to remain an
essential community asset in Fairfax, an important
health care resource for communities throughout
far-northwest Missouri.
Increasingly, stories like ours are the exception
and not the rule. Rural health care faces significantly different challenges than those in urban and
suburban Missouri. Building a strong and sustainable rural health care system requires different policies, investments and partnerships. At the same
time, maintaining and improving the physical and
economic health of rural Missouri calls for us to reimagine rural health.
The economic challenges are real. Nearly 40 percent of Missourians live in the state's rural counties. Six rural hospitals have closed in Missouri in
the past four years, and 47.1 percent of rural hospitals in the state operated in the red in 2016.
Rural Missourians are statistically less affluent,
older and more likely to have chronic health conditions than their metro counterparts. They also are

less likely to have health insurance. As a result, lenging statewide and profoundly difficult in rural
they are less likely to be able to pay for the care they Missouri. Nearly all of Missouri's rural counties are
need. And, with higher rates of Medicare, Medicaid classified as Behavioral Health Professional Shortand self-pay patients, providers often receive less age Areas.
This problem is compounded by the state's opithan cost in reimbursement for care.
Rural demographics challenge the health system oid and substance abuse crisis, which has strained
as well. By 2030, more than 25 percent of Missouri- the behavioral health system. To make progress,
ans will be over 65. However, 46 percent of Medicare Missourians will need to reimagine how we serve
beneficiaries are located in rural areas. Research behavioral health patients, expand partnerships
between behavioral health and priindicates that 90 percent of seniors
mary care, and leverage state and fedwant to age in place. With a strong coreral resources. Parson's budget recomrelation between age and the need for
mendations include several important
health care services, keeping seniors
components of this effort.
in their homes and in their communiFinally, Parson asked for new infraties will require a robust rural health
structure funds to upgrade bridges in
care system. Unfortunately, six rural
rural Missouri. Better rural infrastrucMissouri counties currently lack a priture will help reduce the travel time
mary care physician.
to emergency care. However, there's
These challenges are not insuranother rural bridge worth investing
mountable. However, they demand
in - efforts to bridge the digital divide.
concerted effort to overcome.
Telemedicine holds great promise as
For example, rural Missouri has an
a tool for keeping health care local.
acute health care workforce shortage.
Ann Schlueter
Broadband expansion can help MisThe jobs are plentiful, but candidates
souri reimagine rural health.
with the appropriate training are insufWe can move rural and all Missouri forward. A
ficient. Gov. Mike Parson indicated training Missourians for the jobs of the future will be a priority of core strategy is to reimagine rural health.
his administration. Missouri's demographics point
Schlueter is the chief operating officer for Commuto health care jobs as jobs of the future.
Accessing behavioral health services is chal- nity Hospital in Fairfax..
JULY 2019 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP

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Rural Missouri - July 2019

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