Ascension St. John Nowata (Okla.) has submitted an application with the Oklahoma State Department of Health to redesignate the facility from a critical access hospital to a rural emergency hospital.
“As an REH, St. John Nowata will continue to offer the services our community uses most, including continued access to 24/7 emergency services and outpatient radiology and laboratory services,” an Ascension spokesperson said in a June 24 statement shared with Becker’s.
The hospital, which is part of St. Louis-based Ascension, currently offers inpatient care, swing-bed care, laboratory services, 24/7 emergency care, home health services and stroke care, according to its website.
Patients that require hospital admission will be transferred to Bartlesville, Okla.-based Ascension St. John Jane Phillips, Ascension St. John Owasso (Okla.) or Ascension St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, Okla., the statement said.
A spokesperson for the Oklahoma State Department of Health confirmed with Becker’s that the hospital has provided the required documents needed by the CMS for REH conversion, and that the state had ensured the documents were made available to the CMS.
