PINEDALE — At the July 24 Sublette County Hospital District (SCHD) board meeting, the agenda opened with a presentation by Vestra, a company specializing in Revenue Cycle Management (RCM). RCM encompasses the entire billing process of a hospital, from patient check-in to final payment. Morgan Dunn, CEO and Founder of Vestra, provided an in-depth overview of the challenges facing Sublette County Health. Vestra’s mantra is that you can’t have great care without financial stability. For many rural hospitals, the greatest challenges are not faced in the emergency room, but instead the billing department. She highlighted that Vestra has recently guided six hospitals in transitioning from acute care to critical access, a shift that alters the billing approach.

Vestra, based in Mississippi with a staff of about 80, focuses on rural healthcare. Dunn’s father founded a company dedicated to converting hospitals to Critical Access Hospital (CAH) status after the 1997 federal Balanced Budget Act introduced the CAH designation. Dunn emphasized, “We’ve been working on this since the program’s inception.” With decades of experience, Vestra brings invaluable expertise to enhancing the District’s billing cycle.

Sublette County Health, an umbrella organization comprising the Pinedale Clinic, Marbleton Clinic, EMS, Sublette Center and the future hospital, is developing a comprehensive healthcare system. This system includes EMS, long-term care, clinic visits, and hospital services. “It’s crucial that the Revenue Cycle is robust and ready to serve Sublette County’s patients,” Dunn noted.

Dunn and the Vestra team will collaborate closely with the district’s local billing department to refine processes and enhance education. With the new hospital on the horizon, ensuring the RCM department is prepared is paramount. “Vestra will bring the expertise needed to improve the billing process and prepare the District for CAH designation. Our goal has always been to support rural health, and we look forward to working with Sublette County Health,” Dunn said.