Tornado Devastates Missouri 340B Hospital

by admin | May 25, 2011 8:41 pm

May 25, 2011— St. John’s Regional Medical Center, a 340B disproportionate share hospital in Joplin, Mo., was devastated by a major tornado on May 22. There were more than 120 known fatalities in the community as of May 25, five of them patients of St. John’s. It was the nation’s deadliest single tornado since 1939.

Due to extensive structural damage, the hospital was evacuated. Other nearby hospitals, including those in the Mercy Health Partners system to which St. John’s belongs, are providing care. The Mercy system is posting updates on the situation at St. John’s on its Web site,www.mercy.net[1] . The hospitals own site, www.stj.com[2] , is temporarily unavailable.

To donate to the tornado relief fund through the Mercy Fund for Health Innovation, click here[3] . Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access (SNHPA), which represents more than 700 hospitals enrolled in 340B, is also trying to assist the hospital and its patients by connecting the Mercy health system with Direct Relief USA[4] , a nonprofit organization that provides free medications and medical products in response to emergencies.

As a consequence of the deadly weather in Missouri, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius declared a public health emergency throughout the entire state. In turn, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) activated its 340B Drug Pricing Program Flexibilities During Disasters policy and is temporarily accelerating the start dates for new 340B sites in Missouri so that they begin participating in the program immediately. Under the emergency-situations policy, HRSA allows providers already enrolled in 340B to dispense pharmaceuticals to displaced patients and makes it easier for new entities to register. Clickhere[5] for more information.

Source URL: https://340bemployed.org/tornado-devastates-missouri-340b-hospital/

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