I want to thank Sen. Jim Vickerman and Rep. Doug Magnus for their bipartisan leadership in supporting legislation to foster fair competition between nonprofit community hospitals and for-profit outpatient surgery centers and diagnostic imaging facilities. Hospitals comply with many regulations and quality standards that don’t apply to outpatient surgery centers and diagnostic imaging facilities. We need to update yesterday’s rules to ensure they make sense for today’s health care marketplace.Fostering fair competition is important for everyone in the community. Luverne Community Hospital, a member of Sioux Valley Hospitals and Health System, provides services to everyone. Governed by a nonprofit board, we don’t have conflicts of interest over referrals. We meet all of the community’s needs, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For-profit diagnostic imaging facilities and outpatient surgery centers can’t say the same. And when they come into a community and have none of the limits and rules that govern hospitals, they threaten the financial health of the hospitals themselves. As authors of the legislation that was introduced this week, Sen. Jim Vickerman and Rep. Doug Magnus have had the foresight to recognize the need for action. So on behalf of our 191 employees and our patients, thanks for your help, Sen. Vickerman and Rep. Magnus.Gerald E. CarlCEOLuverne Community Hospital
