Stevens County Hospital

Our hospital’s history begins in 1946. In the general election that year, the residents of the county voted for $150,000 in bonds for a county hospital. This amount was not adequate, so a special election was held, and $50,000 in additional funding was approved by the voters. In 1948, $50,000 more was allocated to fund furnishings and equipment. In addition, the community rallied with fundraisers to continue to raise money for more necessary equipment. The hospital has continued to grow since then. In February 2000, Virgil Cox—long-time Maintenance Director at Stevens County Hospital—led the groundbreaking ceremony for Project 2000, initiating a $4 million renovation. A state-of-the-art rural health clinic was the cornerstone of this project. The mechanical and electrical facilities were updated, and new patient rooms were added. Several departments were relocated and renovated, giving patients and visitors better access to the hospital’s many services. With our strong staff, dedicated community and county, our hospital continues to flourish. Stevens County Hospital became a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) in May 2001. This designation was created by the United States Congress in 1997 to provide support for small, rural hospitals by allowing cost-based reimbursement for care provided to Medicare beneficiaries. To qualify as a CAH, a rural hospital may have a maximum of 25 acute care beds and be considered critical to the care of the community as determined by distance from other, larger hospitals, by geography limiting access to another hospital, or by state certification as a “necessary provider.” Other requirements for CAH status include provision of 24-hour emergency department services, and an average length of stay for acute care of 96 hours or less. Due to the short-term, limited care nature, Critical Access Hospitals must establish a relationship with other, larger hospitals to which they can transfer patients who need more care.