Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 39

I N F O CUS
S T R A T E G I C A PPR O A C H E S to D E S I GN C H A L L E N GE S
SINCE 2010, AMERICA'S rural communities have
been facing a rapidly growing crisis of disparity
in access to healthcare. Rural hospitals across
the nation are closing their doors at a faster rate
than ever seen before, creating ripple effects
throughout the communities they once served
and crippling access to emergency care, negatively
impacting prospective economic development,
and leaving a dwindling population in its
wake. According to the National Rural Health
Association's July 2023 article, " Rural Emergency
Hospital Model Summary, " more than 135
rural hospitals have closed since 2010 and more
than 450 are identified as vulnerable to closure.
The American Hospital Association's 2022
report Rural Hospital Closures Threaten Access
outlines the issues contributing to closure including
low reimbursement, staffing shortages,
low patient volume, and regulatory barriers. To
amplify these issues further, in 2016, Medicare
underpayments increased beyond 40 percent,
resulting in a major reimbursement shortfall for
many rural facilities. Following this additional
burden, the COVID-19 pandemic saddled an already
struggling operational infrastructure with
additional financial and staffing challenges.
To begin addressing these issues, the Consolidated
Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2021 included
a stimulus relief response to the pandemic, as
well as a new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS) reimbursement designation, the
Rural Emergency Hospital (REH)-the first of
its kind in more than 25 years.
The REH designation is an emerging Medicare
provider type, with conversion eligibility
having begun on Jan. 1, 2023. Much like its reimbursement
predecessors for rural healthcare,
the Critical Access Hospital designation and
Prospective Payment System, REH provides
federally funded financial support to help promote
equity of emergency care in rural areas as
well as help halt rural hospital closures.
OPERATIONS AND FACILITY MANAGEMENT
CARE WHERE IT'S NEEDED
The new Rural Emergency Hospital designation is a step in the right
direction to help stabilize rural healthcare, requiring a cost-effective
design that supports operational efficiency By Hillary Earl Crosby
WHAT IS AN REH?
According to CMS, services provided by an REHeligible
facility are limited to " emergency department
services, observation care,
and additional outpatient medical
and health services, if elected by the
REH, that do not exceed an annual
SEP TEMBER 2023
39
DAVID SENIOR

Healthcare Design - September 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Healthcare Design - September 2023

Healthcare Design - September 2023 - Cover1
Healthcare Design - September 2023 - Cover2
Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 1
Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 2
Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 3
Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 4
Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 5
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Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 7
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Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 15
Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 16
Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 16a
Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 16b
Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 16c
Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 16d
Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 16e
Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 16f
Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 16g
Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 16h
Healthcare Design - September 2023 - 17
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Healthcare Design - September 2023 - Cover3
Healthcare Design - September 2023 - Cover4
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