Lawmakers seek federal funding for Fisher-Titus

NORWALK — Fisher-Titus Medical Center should be one of the Ohio hospitals that gets funding from a new federal program aimed at helping rural health care, according to a group of state lawmakers. The Ohio House Rural Hospital Caucus sent a letter on Dec. 16 to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine arguing that money from the Rural Health Transformation Program should be directed to 13 Ohio hospitals across that are not part of a larger hospital system. Norwalk-based Fisher-Titus is one of the hospitals named in the letter. "These independent rural hospitals are facing severe and escalating financial pressures, yet they lack the supplemental revenue streams available to many of their peers," the letter states. "Without targeted support, we risk further closures, forced consolidations and the erosion of essential health care access in rural Ohio." The letter is signed by 19 members of the Ohio House Rural Hospital Caucus, including state Rep. Kellie Deeter, R-Norwalk. Deeter and Rep. Meredith Craig, R-Wayne Township, are the co-chairs of the caucus. The DeWine administration responded to the letter with a Dec. 22 letter from Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the state health department. Vanderhoff pledged to work with the caucus. Vanderhoff explained how Ohio is waiting to receive a Rural Health Transformation Program grant notice from the Trump administration. This would include information on how much money Ohio will get and how the state is allowed to spend the money. Once Ohio officials get the grant notice and meet with the federal official overseeing the grant, then "I would like to meet with this caucus promptly in the new year," Vanderhoff wrote. "This meeting will provide an initial opportunity to review the award and think strategically about how we can proceed under the terms of the award to ensure rural providers and residents are best served by these resources," Vanderhoff added. Deeter, currently serving her first term, is dual certified as a nurse anesthetist and nurse practitioner and has focused much of her legislative work on health care. She provided the Register and Reflector with copies of her caucus' letter and Vanderhoff's reply. The $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program was created by the Working Families Tax Cut Act, also known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill." All 50 states have been invited to apply for funding under the program to help deal with rural health care challenges.