Ritzville, Wash.-based East Adams Rural Healthcare’s board has approved a 2026 budget that includes turning its Ritzville Hospital into a rural emergency hospital.
“To become a rural emergency hospital, a few key steps need to align,” Dallas Killian, COO for East Adams Rural Healthcare, said in a Nov. 21 statement shared with Becker’s. “Although the REH model is already approved at the federal level, Washington state has not yet adopted it. We are actively working with the Department of Health and several state senators to move the legislation forward.”
The plan comes after EARH filed a WARN notice in early November for 108 employees at Ritzville Hospital. The layoffs included full-time, part-time and on-call employees..
Ritzville Hospital would be the first facility to transition to theREH designation in Washington, Mr. Killian said. Under the model, Ritzville Hospital would still offer outpatient services, but would no longer offer inpatient or swing bed stays.
“We would still be allowed for a twenty-four-hour average observation period across the year,” he said. “Since our current inpatient and swing bed use averages about one patient at any given time, this change is not expected to significantly affect our operations.”
Ritzville Hospital reported $13.4 million in losses from 2022 to 2024. While it is expected to break even by the end of 2025 through the help of a $2 million Washington State Hospital Distressed Fund allocation, previous debt is unresolved and vendors can no longer provide services without payment, the WARN notice said.
EARH comprises the Ritzville-based hospital, Ritzville Clinic and Emergency Services and a mobile unit, according to its website.
