The entrance to AHN Westfield Memorial Hospital is pictured. The hospital has received a designation as a Rural Emergency Hospital from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the state Department of Health and will now transition to a 24/7 emergency, observation, and outpatient care facility.

WESTFIELD – AHN Westfield Memorial Hospital has received a designation as a Rural Emergency Hospital from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the state Department of Health.

In the coming months, Westfield Memorial Hospital will transition from a small inpatient hospital to a 24/7 emergency, observation, and outpatient care facility.

Rural Emergency Hospitals are a new Medicare provider designation established to support struggling rural hospitals, allowing them to continue providing essential services without having to maintain inpatient beds. It was created to prevent rural hospital closures, maintain access to healthcare in small communities and promote health equity for those living in rural areas.

AHN Westfield Memorial Hospital officials say the designation will ensure Westfield Memorial’s long-term financial and operational stability going forward and protect care access for its patients in Westfield and the surrounding area. Designated rural emergency hospitals are eligible for additional federal funding and higher Medicare reimbursement rates.

“We are so gratified that AHN Westfield has received rural emergency hospital designation,” said Rodney Buchanan, DNP, RN, CFRN, administrator of WMH. “This change will help residents of this region maintain access to the high-quality health services they need for years to come.”

In an average year, WMH sees thousands of patients on an outpatient or observational basis and receives nearly 10,000 emergency department visits. The hospital, however, sees between 120 and 150 inpatient admissions annually — or about 10-12 inpatient admissions a month. Westfield was previously licensed for just four inpatient beds.

Moving forward, most patients who require an overnight inpatient stay will be transferred to AHN Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie, Pa., about 35 miles away. Westfield Memorial Hospital has been a satellite facility for Saint Vincent Hospital since 1999. Saint Vincent is a 375-bed hospital that provides a comprehensive range of medical services, including obstetrical care, cardiovascular surgery, cancer care, emergency care, neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery, and many other advanced specialties.

“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,” said Chris Clark, DO, MHA, president of Saint Vincent Hospital. “That commitment and process will only grow more seamless and stronger with Westfield’s new designation by CMS as a Rural Emergency Hospital.”

The federal government and the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which classify hospitals by category — such as short-term, long-term, rehabilitation, children’s hospitals, etc. — finalized the new “rural emergency hospital” option in January 2023. Later that year, New York formally changed its public health code to recognize the rural emergency hospital designation and allow for the conversions.

By rule, the hospitals applying for the Rural Emergency Hospital conversion must have no more than 50 beds and be located in a rural area, or must already be designated as a Critical Access Hospital.

Founded in 1942, AHN Westfield Memorial Hospital is the only Allegheny Health Network hospital outside of the state of Pennsylvania. In 2018, the hospital opened its new five-bed emergency department; and in 2024, it opened a new radiology and diagnostics suite. Coming soon will be a new, more convenient Emergency Department entrance and a new, state of the art MRI suite for advanced diagnostic capabilities.