MILFORD, Del. - Rural health care in Sussex County is drawing increased attention from state leaders, as Governor Matt Meyer visited Bayhealth’s Sussex Campus in Milford on Wednesday to discuss the state’s health care needs and future solutions.
During his visit, Meyer toured the facility and participated in a roundtable discussion with health care leaders. The conversation centered on improving rural health access, expanding affordability, and exploring grant funding to strengthen support for local communities.
"What gives me hope are the individuals working here and the leadership here that's really patient centric, that's saying, listen, no matter what's going on out there in the world, no matter what division or politics or even a federal government that shut down, we got to make it work for the people who walk in here every single day," Meyer said.
According to Bayhealth, the challenges facing Delaware’s healthcare system today are forcing patients to deal with longer wait times, delayed treatments and in some cases, inadequate care.
Bayhealth says its mobile health unit is designed to bring essential medical services directly to communities, improving accessibility, reducing barriers to care, and helping address the issue of shortages in healthcare workers.
"I see things as opportunities. I try to be optimistic about everything," said Kyle Benoit, executive vice president and chief operating officer of BayHealth. "It’ll be tough along the way, but we have a great team here that can overcome any challenges that come our way."
The governor says there’s a $50 billion national fund to the Rural Health Transformation Fund that will help the healthcare system in Delaware. The applications are due in the coming weeks.
"We've been working hard, collaborating with with Bay health, other health care facilities across the state, other health care providers and community members to put together a compelling application to make sure Delaware gets a little more than its fair share of that $50 billion to assist and supplement the tremendous work being done here at Bay health," said Meyer.