RMCHCS obtains critical access hospital status
On Monday, Rehoboth Mckinley Christian Health Care Services announced the hospital has officially obtained critical access hospital accreditation from the Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality (CIHQ) The hospital announced in a news release that a survery had been completed by the CIHQ and has successfully met the requirements for Critical Access Hospital Accreditation by demonstrating compliance with CIHQ Standards and the Conditions of Participation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The news release cited that the recognition reflects the hospital's continuous commitment to safety and quality patient care.
As part of the survey the hospital was subjected to a rigorous unannounced onsite assessment on Nov 7. The CIHQ team toured the hospital, reviewed medical records, observed care practices, and interviewed staff and patients.
Chief Executive Officer of CIHQ Richard Curtis stated that the goal of CIHQ is to partner with hospitals to improve the care provided communities. "CIHQ is proud to recognize RMCHCS for achieving accreditation." said Curtis.
RMCHCS' new Chief Executive Officer Wayne Gillis commented on the new development, "CIHQ has changed the stereotype of what surveys are to so many in the healthcare industry. They used every opprortunity to educate us on what we needed to do to correct or adjust... This was different than any survrey we have been a part of. I love that I work for a hospital that chose CIHQ as their accrediting organization."
The hospital first announced the intention to start an application in February 2023 under the direction of former hospital CEO Robert Whitaker. The move was approved by the hospital's Board of Trustees the same month. Whitaker cited that some of the benefits of CAH status would be the change to how Medicare and Medicaid reimburse the hospital and the addition of skilled nursing through swing bed services; a swing bed is a hospital room that can switch from inpatient acute care status to skilled care status.
According to the Rural Health Information Hub website the CAH designation is designed to reduce the financial vulnerability of rural hospitals and improve access to healthcae by keeping essential services in rural communities.
The hospital's news release on Monday cited that full CAH accreditation took a long time to complete and the survey is the last step in the process. After the initial CAH survey in June 2023, the hospital was able to start building their Swing Bed program.
The release said since the initial survey, the hospital worked with CIHQ and Swing Bed residents to build a program where people can take extra time to recover at RMCHCS without the need to transfer to a long-term care center for additional rehabilitatioin services. The release shared that the hospital is very pleased with the survery results and are proud to provide the services to Gallup and McKinley County.
