Massena (N.Y.) Hospital, a 25-bed facility that is part of St. Lawrence Heath, has converted into a critical access hospital.
To obtain critical access status, hospitals must have no more than 25 beds and an average duration of stay under 96 hours. While cutting services to meet these requirements can be a tough decision, the designation can provide these hospitals with a path toward financial stability.
Massena Hospital leaders will look to replicate the success of St. Lawrence Health's Gouverneur Hospital, which has been recognized as a top critical access hospital after receiving the designation in June 2013.
"This is a federal designation providing rural hospitals cost-based reimbursement for Medicare services. The status is anticipated to provide MH considerable improvements towards our financial solvency and has long been in the works," Brent Bishop, associate COO at Massena Hospital, said in a news release shared with Becker's. "With this change to a CAH, there will be no changes to the services we currently provide or to the number of patient beds we have. This has been a seamless transition for our community and patients."