In August 2016, CMS terminated OCH’s Medicare provider agreement status arguing the hospital no longer met the criteria to be called a hospital. As a result of the termination notice which came in July 2016, OCH closed its North National facility and cut 200 positions. After being closed for more than a year, the facility will reopen as Evergreen Behavioral Hospital, an inpatient psychiatric facility.
We want to be a hospital again,” said Todd Lutes, hospital administrator at Ozarks Community Hospital, according to Ozarks First. “We weren’t doing enough in-patient stays to continue to call ourselves a hospital.”
Mr. Lutes added that at the time of the termination notice CMS had a very vague definition about what constituted a hospital and the agency has since revised its definition, allowing the facility to reopen.
OCH officials estimate that 40 to 50 employees will be hired when the hospital opens in June of 2018.
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