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Video: Potential Loss of Critical Access Hospital Designation
Could Cost Lewis County Hospital Over $5 Million Annually

February 05, 2020   07:30 a.m.   By: Nick Altmire
    Lowville, NY- Lewis County General Hospital recently learned that the facility
    was among half of the Critical Access Hospitals in the state at risk of losing their
    designation due to a change in what constitutes a primary road.

    There are currently 18 Critical Access Hospitals in New York State, with 9 at risk
    of losing the designation. Three of those are located in the north country,
    including Carthage Area Hospital and Gouverneur Hospital, in addition to Lewis
    County General.

    The Critical Access Hospital designation is a federal program created in 1997 to
    help reduce the financial vulnerability of rural hospitals and to improve access to
    healthcare.

    Lewis County's hospital earned the designation in 2014, The hospital is set to
    begin their first recertification process for the designation, due in June.

    To qualify as a Critical Access Hospital, a facility must:

  • Provide 24-hour emergency care sevens days a week;
  • Be located no less than 15 miles from another hospital by a secondary road
    or 35 miles by a primary road;
  • Have 25 or less inpatient beds;
  • Have an average annual inpatient length of stay of 96 hours or less

    With regulation hange now defining State Route 26 as a primary road, Lewis
    County General Hospital would no longer meet the distance between hospitals
    standard needed to qualify.

    If the hospital loses the designation it would mean a loss of over $5.3 million
    annually.

    Hospital CEO Jerry Cayer briefed the Lewis County Board of Legislators on the
    situation during the board's Tuesday evening meeting (full video below). Mr.
    Cayer said if the hospital loses the designation it would have a significant impact
    on the services the hospital will be able to provide and could jeopardize its long
    term viability.

    The hospital plans to work with the other Critical Access Hospitals to fight the
    change to the regulation.

    The news comes as the hospital is working towards finalizing a $30 million
    capital project to renovate and modernize portions of the facility.

    Full video of Mr. Cayer's comments to the board is included below: