U.S. Congressman tours Scotland Memorial Hospital
LAURINBURG — Congressman Richard Hudson took a tour of Scotland Memorial Hospital Wednesday to take a first-hand look at health care in the community.
Hudson who represents the 8th district, but is running to represent the 9th district, which includes Scotland County said he was impressed with the hospital during his tour.
“I understand how important this hospital is to our community and now that this is now back in my district, I’ve been wanting to get back here and see how did this hospital and the whole system fair through COVID and what they’re facing now and what I can do to help as their congressman,” he said.
Hudson said staffing is a big problem. “Finding nurses and folks that can staff the hospital is a big challenge. And it’s always been a challenge. Years ago when I was coming here, it was a challenge to find people who would move to a rural community and work at the hospital when they can make more money working in a bigger city somewhere. There’s always been challenges,” he said.
Scotland Memorial, Hudson said, is a regional hospital serving patients from South Carolina, Richmond County and other areas. “That has a lot to do with the success of how good the hospital is. That makes it more important that we make sure they’re getting the resources that they need. The other aspect of that is such a large majority of the population that comes in this facility are Medicare or Medicaid and the reimbursement rates are a lot lower than someone who has private healthcare. So, that creates a financial challenge as well, you can’t pay nurses as much as a hospital in Charlotte or Raleigh and making sure the reimbursements we’re giving for Medicare and Medicaid are the correct amount and making sure we’re reimbursing things like telemedicine.”
Hudson knows that’s what he can fight for in Washington, but since there’s only one pie, that’s going to come with fighting when it comes to more funding.
“It’s always a fight between rural and urban,” he said. “Those of us who represent who represent rural areas are always pushing for higher Medicare payments, especially in critical care communities like this. There are a lot of us pushing for it and a lot of others who push back. They may represent an urban area and they don’t want to lose any money. There’s always that tension in politics.”
Hudson faces Ben Clark, a N.C. State Senator in the November general election.