Opinion
As you probably know, Sutter Lakeside Hospital became a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) back in 2008. What you may not know is why – or what that designation means.
In 2007 and 2008, we were struggling financially and we were considering several options: We could reduce services, we could close programs or we could consider becoming a Critical Access Hospital.
Under the direction of our volunteer board of directors, and with the blessing of our medical staff, we decided to apply for Critical Access Hospital status.
The federal CAH program is designed to provide additional financial support for small rural hospitals.
This option is offered to small rural hospitals of 25 beds or fewer to ensure that critical health care services remain available locally.
Our Critical Access designation allows us to receive significantly higher reimbursement from Medicare for inpatient and outpatient procedures as compared to non-Critical Access hospitals.
Since 2008, Sutter Lakeside Hospital has received more than $16 million in additional Medicare reimbursement due to our critical access status.
Some of you may remember when Lakeside Community Hospital had more than 50 beds. On average, we had between 27 and 30 patients in beds each night since the inception of the hospital in the mid-1940s.
We decided that a 25 bed-count required by the CAH guidelines would be manageable – and we were right.
Part of the reason that 25 beds continues to work for us is that medicine is changing and evolving.
Procedures, such as hysterectomies, that once required a week-long inpatient stay, can now be done safely and effectively as outpatient procedures.
Major abdominal surgeries are being replaced with laparoscopic procedures using video technology, which greatly reduces procedure recovery times.
In addition, hospitals continue to work with our community partners to get patients home sooner with the care they need, whether that is homecare, equipment to help care for patients at home (like walkers and hospital beds), support from hospice, or placement in skilled nursing facilities.
As medicine continues to evolve, the move to more outpatient and home-based care will gain momentum.
This is an exciting time to be a part of health care and witness the change in how we deliver care to the people who need it.
I hear comments from the community about the use of helicopter transfers from our Emergency Department.
The overwhelming reason why we transfer patients out of the area is so that the patient may receive a higher level of care.
This means that the patient being seen in our Emergency Department has a medical condition that needs treatment by a specialist, such as an open heart surgeon, a stroke specialist for brain surgeries or the patient requires a procedure like microscopic hand surgery.
Lake County’s population of 65,000 residents is too small for those high-level specialists to make a living.
For example, a cardiac open heart program needs to do about 300 to 500 procedures a year to ensure the staff and providers working in the program maintain their skills.
The old adage “practice makes perfect” is as true in medicine as it is anywhere else. To do 300 open heart procedures a year requires a population base of about 400,000 people – or six times the number of residents in Lake County.
We have been pleased with the results of becoming a Critical Access Hospital. With the transition to CAH status, we have been able to continue offering our community excellent medical care close to home, and that’s crucial to all of us who live and work in Lake County.
If you have any questions about our CAH status, please write to me at
Siri Nelson is chief administrative officer of Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport, Calif.
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- Written by: Siri Nelson
Lake County residents are a diverse group to be sure. There is little we seem to have in common and less upon which we are likely to agree, except for one thing.
To a person, Lake County residents are justifiably proud of the beauty of the land around us. Biologists tell us of the diverse habitats and the abundant wildlife they support; geologists tell us of the complex and fascinating geological wonders under our feet; and botanists tell us how our land is able to produce such bounteous and wondrous agriculture.
But we need only our eyes to confirm that which raw data and studies can only hint at – we are blessed to call this county home.
For nearly 20 years, the Lake County Land Trust has had as its mission to identify and preserve the most important places in the county.
This motivated the protection of Rodman Ranch and Slough (now the Rodman Preserve) on the north end of Clear Lake and the preservation of the Black Forest on the slopes of Mt. Konocti.
We undertook each of these projects confident that you, our fellow residents, would rally to the cause and help us forever to preserve these important Lake County icons. We were correct in our faith in your love of your home.
And now we are embarking on a third equally important project – the Big Valley Wetlands Project.
The aforementioned scientists helped the Land Trust identify the shoreline of Clear Lake from the south of Lakeport to Clear Lake State Park as the highest priority region in the county for protection.
Some of the reasons for that designation are self-evident: it is the last (nearly unbroken) stretch of undeveloped shoreline on the lake, the wetlands of the region provide natural filtration of the Lake’s water, the tules and other shore plants provide habitat for fish, fowl and aquatic mammals.
As always the Land Trust works only with willing landowners. The first of those, George Melo, has come forward.
His 31-acre parcel on Clipper Lane near Kelseyville sits at about the midway point of the shoreline. The Land Trust has identified it as the keystone priority for the entire Big Valley Wetlands project and has negotiated its purchase and an option to raise the necessary funds – $225,000.
The Land Trust has already acquired $45,000 towards this commitment which leaves a balance of $180,000. That is where you come in.
We trust in you and your love of this county to help us raise the balance in increments of varying sizes by March of 2014. We believe in your commitment to Lake County in all its beauty and in your determination to resolve our matters locally.
We are the Lake County Land Trust and, as our name implies, we trust in the land, but we have faith in you.
If you are interested in helping with this project and would like to receive a detailed “Case for Support” document with pictures and documentation, call us at 707-994-2024 or email
Donors of $1,000 to $2,500 will receive permanent recognition on a plaque located at the Rodman Preserve office; $5,000 and up donors will receive plaque recognition plus listing on a donor display board at the Melo property; $10,000 and up donors receive all of the above, plus a donor plaque on a trail sign, bench, or viewing area at the Melo property.
However, more importantly, donors will have the satisfaction of knowing they helped contribute to this important beginning project for the Big Valley Wetlands preservation project.
Michael Friel and Roberta Lyons are members of the Lake County Land Trust, serving Lake County, Calif.
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- Written by: Michael Friel and Roberta Lyons
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