North Carolina is attempting to resurrect a closed hospital as a rural emergency hospital, NC Health News reported Aug. 12. If successful, it will be the first such revival of its kind in the U.S.
Williamston, N.C.-based Martin General, a 43-bed facility in a community of 22,000, closed in August 2023 after struggling financially. The county has been working for months to find a way to reopen the shuttered hospital using a recently enacted federal designation. The new rule allows facilities with less than 50 beds in rural areas to convert to rural emergency hospitals. Under this designation, they receive millions in annual funding from the federal government and are eligible for increased reimbursement rates from Medicare; but they must provide 24/7 emergency care and are not allowed to offer inpatient services.
Twenty-nine currently operating facilities across the U.S. have converted to rural emergency hospitals since the program's launch in January 2023, but Martin General would be the first fully shuttered hospital to reopen its doors using the designation.
Earlier this year, CMS confirmed the hospital could reopen as a rural emergency hospital, clearing the first major hurdle. The facility must still pass CMS inspection and meet other requirements for the program, then solicit proposals from providers interested in running the hospital.
The timeline to complete these next steps remains uncertain, experts told the news outlet, but officials are moving forward with plans.