ms. martin. ms. martin: thank you for the opportunity today to share our health care story. i am the c.e.o. of a small health care system located in the san luis valley, which is a rural, agriculture-based community in southern colorado. we serve six counties, an area rool roughly the size of massachusetts. and are the safety net for our nearly 50,000 residents. two of our counties are the poorest in colorado. nearly 70% of our patients are covered by medicare or medicaid. with less than 20% having commercial insurance. with this challenging payer mix, we are constant struggle to remain financially viable. health and the rural hospitals around the country are appreciative of this committee's commitment to rural communities and we're hopeful that meaningful help is on the way. our system is comprised of a 49-bed sole community hospital and a 17-bed critical access hospital. we operate five rural health clinics, two of which are provider-based. this past year we provided 2,500 hospital visits, 58,000 ou

ms. martin? >> certainly the aca expansion made a positive difference in the community where my service area is. i think in colorado overall. we had an uninsured rate of nearly 20% and that has been reduced in my community to low single digits. the coverage for patients and allowing patients to get access for care has improved the bottom line. 70% of our population is medicare and medicaid. our relationship with government payers is critical to our survival. >> did you say 70? >> 70. >> hours is up there as well. over 50. i don't think people quite understand that that is the challenge we face. we love our rural economy and communities. they are a great place for people who are aging to retire and live and it is more affordable. but that is a different mix of the population as it relates to how you build a healthcare delivery system. the medicaid expansion is so critical to that. i also wanted to ask about telemedicine. that is another delivery system for us. we have this project echo at the univ

ms. martin. in her testimony referenced times when the hospital systems have been on the verge of financial crisis in the past. how did you leverage resources and streamline service delivery so that or operation lines to state financially viable and can talk about what you think an appropriate medicare margin should be for small and nonprofit rural hospitals like yours? >> thank you, senator. i think it's interesting when you talk about margins for rural hospitals. any margin would be helpful to so many rural hospitals. i think for my system located in the rural part of colorado if we can be in a margin area of three or 5% we consider that a very successful year and so i think different areas have different needs with and so much depends on your info structure and what you need to replace as far as equipment and facilities goes. i think for our system and my perspective that is the margins that we are trying to achieve and sometimes we're on 1% or in the negative and i think what we did initially

ms. markel-fox's work, but this is just the beginning. [inaudible] >> supervisor peskin: -- we've seen the fruits of your neighbor to the south. mr. christian martin is here from the lower polk cbd, which is acting as the fiscal sponsor for discover polk. i just want to thank you. when you first started this effort, you didn't go to the 30% threshold, but rather than tent and go home, you guys have regrouped and gotten to that magic number so that we can vote on it in july. and i want to mention that you've managed to get the support of the four largest property owners that represent over 15% of the assessments, and they've endorsed the formation of the discover polk cbd, as have a plurality of small businesses in the area and condos have been supportives. so after we hear about the presentation and get public comment, i will ask my colleagues to support this resolution of intent. >> supervisor kim: great. thank you. >> this project started in 2015 and 16, and the lower -- on the middle polk community worked to -- with outreach to determine the appropriate services to deliver appropriate costs to deliver those services. the district budget is goin

martin. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from idaho. a senator: i rise in support of the nomination of ms. jelena mcwilliams to be chair and -- macwilliams to be chair and member of the federal deposit corporation. as one of the three primary financial regulators, the fdic plays a critical role in the united states financial system, particularly for community banks. mr. crapo: as head of the fdic, ms. macwilliams will be responsible for administering the deposit fund and ensuring the safety and soundness of the financial system while also promoting economic growth. she will also contribute to deliberations on financial stability as a member of the financial stability oversight council. having focused extensively on financial institutions throughout her career in both the private and public sectors, ms. macwilliams is supremely qualified for this position. she has a unique view of the united states regulatory system and its related entities. most recently serving as the chief legal officer executive vice president and corporate secretary for fifth third bank, a regional bank based in ohio.

ms. . >> the night that president lyndon johnson addressed the nation -- march 16, 1965 -- he ended that speech by echoing the words that dr. martin jr. or used so often in the civil rights movement. there was a photographer here, frank dandridge, who worked for "life" magazine at the time who was embedded in the house. and he wanted to capture dr. king's emotions as he watched on television president john committing to -- johnson committing to signing the voting rights act. this was the chair that dr. king was sitting in that night watching that television. president johnson addressed the nation. >> uncle martin, as i knew him, the world knew him as dr. martin luther king jr., first started coming to this house in the late 1950s, early '60s as a young minister. that's when he met my parents. he was ministering in montgomery, his first church, dexter. and he would come to zell a ma and to selma -- selma and selma university which is directly across the street from the house to participate in classes and to give lectures at selma university. so he would come and spend the night be here in the early -- the night here in the early ye

ms. martin's testimony. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, ten at been. our first witness will be susan j could go nant and, so senator trace. >> she is senior vice-president of integration and optimal decision. she was also the ceo ask thing point, a nurse by training and she's the first eye juan sfal. no chooses professional akeef him, i would like to say a part of her legacy is sitting behind her take, so i'm going to in involve myself in her family. nate thomas a sue answer son. actually tom sued his daughter-in-law and nament, evenly if there's naw take -- she is sue's son-in-law, chat is the director of operations for unity point planning. or welcome to the committee. >> well, thank you censor storl nchlths i found out where this would be dr. ken and murphy who will be introduced by our good friends. >>> thank you, mr. chairman. privileged to introduce dr. mur tee, dr. mur tee is chief innovation officer at guy certificate health systems. i know her from our home town and she has a long report of service. >>> she served with the pa. she was. she was

ms. cantwell: mr. president, i come to the floor to pay tribute to reverend dr. samuel b. mckinney, a civil rights icon from the pacific northwest. in august of 1963, martin luther king jr. inspired a nation from the steps of the lincoln memorial here in washington, d.c., boldly proclaiming that now is the time to make justice a relate at this time for all of -- a reality for all of god's children. meanwhile, in the basement of mt. zion baptist church, dr. samuel mckinney was already taking up that cause. he stood before his fellow religious leaders, pastors, rabbis, priests and asked them to join him in the struggle for equality and justice for all. and for more than 40 years he never gave up the fight advocating for economic and social justice in seattle, washington. and throughout our nation. refusing to yield to the deep-seated prejudice and violence he became known has a pillar of seattle's civic life and a moral consciousness of our community. tomorrow many washington to enians will come together -- wash to enians will come together to celebrate his life to remember his wisdom, his advocacy, his deep and unshakable belief in justice, his steadfast c