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CAH Designation Received
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Division of Quality, notified North Valley Hospital on November 10 of its official designation for participation in the Medicare program as a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) effective November 1, 2003.
As a rural hospital participating in Medicare and certified as a “necessary provider of health care services” with 24-hour emergency care, North Valley Hospital qualified as critical access . The benefits of being a critical access hospital include increased reimbursements, diversification/expansion of services, and community pride and economic stability. Having CAH designation does not limit the scope of services offered, does not limit individual patient length of stay, or force the hospital to become a part of anyone else.
NVH will continue to offer the same quality services and programs it always has; patients and staff will not see any changes at North Valley Hospital. “Becoming CAH increases the reimbursement for Medicare and Medicaid patients and provides NVH stability for the hospital in the coming years,” stated Craig Aasved, Hospital CEO. The critical access program was designed to reimburse small hospitals more fairly, in an effort to allow well-run rural hospitals to survive in this time of increasing Medicare and Medicaid cutbacks. Presently, the hospital receives less than cost for services provided to Medicare and Medicaid patients.
“Critical access status also strengthens the hospital’s financial position in seeking federal grant approval for their new facility to be constructed near Highways 93 and 40, as well as accelerating the Housing and Urban Development process for this project,” added Aasved.
North Valley Hospital is now one of 44 hospitals operating as a Critical Access facility in Montana and one of over 800 hospitals nationwide.
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