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V O L . X X X N O. X V J U LY 8 , 2 0 2 4 12 H E A LT H C A R E / W E L L N E S S president. "And then your government payers — Medicare, MaineCare and Medicaid — will typically pay 30 to 40 cents on the dollar if you're a regular hospital. When you convert to a critical access hospital, it's 101%. It's cost-based reimburse- ment — whatever it costs to run our rural hospital is what they reimburse us." at difference is huge "because we can't survive on 30 to 40 cents on the dollar," she says. "A lot of hospitals, whether they're large or small, if they're in urban areas, if you have a strong commercial payer, it can make up the difference. But when you live up here in rural Franklin County, we just don't have that. We don't have enough to keep us afloat." Indeed, the hospital had a 0.1% operating margin in the third quarter of 2023, Chartis data show. With financial backing from MaineHealth, Franklin is in the process of an $11 million emergency- department upgrade and a $4 million expansion of oncology and infusion. Too small to have its own doctor residency pro- gram, FCHN participates with other regional insti- tutions in the state-funded Maine Rural Graduate Medical Education Collaborative, abbreviated as MERGE. e hospital also plans to participate in a federally funded MaineHealth rural residency pro- gram to be launched in 2027. "In building new opportunities for teaching resi- dents here in Maine we could not go it alone," says Dr. Ross Isacke, an internist at Franklin Memorial Community Health Options has partnered with Firefly Health to offer your employees virtual-first primary care services. What does this mean for you and your team? Ridiculously convenient care for medical issues, emotional well-being, and healthy habits all connected through a device. Access to primary care just got a whole lot easier. Learn more at fireflyhealth.com/with/chobusiness Your employees need primary care, anytime, anywhere. We've got you covered. LG20240401 » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E F O C U S P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y, N O R T H E R N L I G H T C A D E A N H O S P I TA L A new mobile mammography unit, based in Greenville at Northern Light CA Dean Hospital, is bringing cancer screening to women in the region. P H OTO / C O U R T E S Y, N O R T H E R N L I G H T C A D E A N H O S P I TA L