Rural clinic lands $700,000 boost

ODESSA — Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center expects to receive about $700,000 in federal funding for rural hospitals this summer, while its board considers ending a costly sleep studies program that has attracted few patients, CEO Vince Oliver said at a Feb. 26 meeting.

The funding comes from a $50 billion federal allocation to rural hospitals, with $10 billion distributed annually. Washington state got $181 million for fiscal year 2026, funneled through the Washington State Hospital Association for equitable distribution among about 32 critical access facilities.

“So, hey, how about some really good news?” Oliver said. “The big, beautiful bill … granted $50 billion dollars to the country’s rural hospitals. That money is now available.”

Oliver said the association’s rural committee devised a formula based on revenues, Medicaid and Medicare volumes, dividing hospitals into small, medium and large categories.

An Odessa citizen questioned the math, calculating roughly $6 million per facility.

“That comes out to almost $6 million over 32 facilities,” the citizen said. “You said there’d be 30 facilities plus maybe two more. So that should be 6 million coming this way. Not $700,000.”

Board chairman explained it’s not evenly divided, noting Odessa is among the state’s smallest hospitals.

Oliver also proposed an employee of the month program and sought approval to terminate the Rural Sleep Solutions contract after spending $85,000 with just one inpatient study and several home tests.

“The problem has been, we’ve gotten no one credentialed,” Oliver said. “We need to end this relationship.”

The next board meeting is set for March 26.