Show L l u I of small rural ls Support was announced last week by US U.S. Senator Jake Garn Cam R Ut R-Ut Ut of a bill designed to ease the burden of Federal regulations on small rural hospitals Garn said said be he is s joining Senator Paul Laxalt R R- Nev in sponsoring Senate bill to amend Title 18 of the llie Social Se Security Act to make less stringent the requirements rural hospitals with willi 50 beds or orless orless orless less must meet in order to qualify fo for medicare reimbursement Everyone wants safe clean well equipped and well well staffed staffed hospitals said Senator Garn and it is not the intent of this legislation to in any way weaken Federal standards i for health care facilities But Title 18 regulations are better suited to large urban hospitals with impressive f facilities and numerous trained personnel than to small rural ones which h lack both facilities and trained staff This bill seeks only to add additional flexibility to the law lawIn lawin lawin in order to make the Federal standards better suited to small rural health care are facilities facilities' SENATOR G GARN RN- RN said the llie bill blU would require the Secretary of lOW HEW to consider consid regional availability In hi establishing nursing care requirements and would forbid hospitals from being decertified on m the bass basis of ofa ofa ofa a temporary shortage of nursing nur nursing nur sing personnel would allow the Secretary to deem a rural facility In compliance compliance with fire and safety regulations in the event that the facility met sufficiently stringent state fire and safety codes would relax the prescription against merging hospitals and nursing nursing nuI home patients in the same facility because of the extreme cost cast of rural units would require that the Secretary modify existing rules Mea to ensure that personnel requirements are consistent with wi the availability of f technical ech ical personnel per per- in rural areas and the scope of services rendered by su such h ru rural facilities However well intentioned the Title 18 rules may may be they are t too encompassing all all and do donot donot donot not take into account the par par- Ocular r needs of the small rural hospitals Gam Garn said This bill will make them much more f fair air fairand fairand and workable |