CENTERVILLE, Iowa— River Hills Community Health Center announced its Centerville clinic and River Hills Dental in Richland will close July 31, citing workforce shortages, rising operational costs, reimbursement challenges, and declining sustainability of rural health services.
“It is absolutely heartbreaking to see that happen,” said State Rep. Austin Harris of Appanoose County. “I have not had a chance yet to speak with River Hills to learn more about why they made that decision. I assume there was a financial aspect to that as well. We know this isn’t just a problem in our area but across the entire nation as well.”
Since Mercy One closed its Ottumwa clinic earlier this year, and Pella Regional Health Center downsized services in the city, providers say remaining clinics are already being stretched thin.
“We’re already absorbing Mercy’s [patients], we’re absorbing Pella’s, I mean I’m still seeing everybody every day from these clinics because they had nowhere to go,” said Cassie Dunlavy, an ARNP at Ottumwa’s River Hills about the closure.
For some patients, transferring care to River Hills in Ottumwa could mean about a 45-minute drive.
Some providers warn that Medicaid funding pressures could continue to add strain to already limited rural healthcare resources.
Rep. Harris says the state is investing heavily in long-term rural healthcare support through Iowa’s Rural Health Transformation Fund.
“We’re going to be speaking about $1 billion dollars to help prop up and expand services. Obviously, that’s not going to change what happened with the River Hills in Centerville, but we obviously want to prevent other River Hills like clinics closing across the state and looking to see what issues may exist that we can address in the future.”
River Hills said it is committed to supporting patients through the transition and encouraged patients to contact the clinic directly for assistance.