Faces of 340B

BETTY ARVIDSON, CFO, RIVERVIEW HEALTH, MN

As a critical access hospital, RiverView Health in northwest Minnesota is a vital source of care for the largely rural communities it serves. That necessitates hiring physicians and other health professionals who can provide high-quality services to their patients, says Betty Arvidson, the hospital’s chief financial officer. In part using 340B program savings, RiverView Health has brought on the staff it needed to establish and maintain an orthopedic surgery center, 24-hour lab and imaging services, an emergency department staffed with physicians employed by the hospital, and more. The savings also enabled the hospital to expand its rural clinic hours to include evenings and weekends. Arvidson says some of the most gratifying moments at RiverView involve patients who cannot afford their care being able to access it because of 340B savings. Any cuts to the program would threaten the great progress that the hospital has made in expanding charity care and service lines since joining the 340B program.