Westfield, N.Y.-based AHN Westfield Memorial Hospital has received designation as a rural emergency hospital from CMS and the New York State Department of Health. The hospital will make the transition to the new Medicare designation in the coming months.
Allegheny Health Network, a 14-hospital system, said the change is intended to ensure long-term financial and operational stability for the hospital and preserve healthcare access in the Westfield and Chautauqua County region.
CMS launched the REH model in 2023 to prevent rural hospital closures and support facilities with low inpatient volumes. Instead of maintaining inpatient beds, REHs are reimbursed at higher Medicare rates and receive an average annual facility payment of about $3.2 million.
In a typical year, Westfield Memorial receives nearly 10,000 emergency department visits and treats thousands of patients on an outpatient or observational basis. By contrast, the hospital admits just 120 to 150 inpatients a year — an average of 10 to 12 per month. Prior to this designation, it was licensed for just four inpatient beds.
“This change will help residents of this region maintain access to the high-quality health services they need for years to come,” Rodney Buchanan, DNP, RN, administrator of WMH.
Moving forward, most patients requiring overnight stays will be transferred to AHN Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie, Pa., about 35 miles away. Since 1999, Westfield Memorial has operated as a satellite facility of the 375-bed hospital, which offers a wide range of services, including obstetrical care, cardiovascular surgery, cancer care, neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery and emergency care.
“AHN Saint Vincent and AHN Westfield have worked together for many years, assuring that patients arriving at Westfield who require advanced or tertiary care have swift transport and access to Saint Vincent,” Chris Clark, DO, president of Saint Vincent, said. “That commitment and process will only grow more seamless and stronger with Westfield’s new designation by CMS as a rural emergency hospital.”
Westfield Memorial is the only Allegheny Health Network hospital outside Pennsylvania. It will be the 44th hospital to convert to the REH model and the third in New York to do so.
