New hospital in Athens clears hurdle

April 30--ATHENS -- A local health care provider has cleared a major hurdle on its path toward opening the region's only long-term acute care hospital.

Mike Maxwell, CEO of North Alabama Specialty Hospital, said the health care provider will successfully complete its six-month demonstration period for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Sunday.

The milestone means the hospital has demonstrated for CMS that it has an average patient stay of 25 days and is qualified to be reimbursed by Medicare as a long-term acute care hospital, or LTACH.

"This is something that's been in the works for a long time," Maxwell said. "That's the final piece for us to be functioning as an LTACH."

LTACHs are intended to provide extended care for patients sick enough to be in an intensive care unit. They specialize in services such as wound care or ventilator weaning for patients who are not well enough to go into a nursing home for recovery.

The presence of an LTACH in the region is particularly desirable for acute care hospitals such as Athens-Limestone Hospital or Huntsville Hospital, where average patient stays are usually three to seven days.

That's because acute-care hospitals typically don't get extra Medicare reimbursement for ICU patients who stay for extended periods of time. LTACHs do get reimbursed for the extended stay, helping to free up ICU beds and reduce costs for acute care hospitals.

The presence of an LTACH also could benefit local patients who would otherwise be sent to Nashville or Birmingham for treatment. Those are the closest cities with LTACH providers.

Unknown to many, North Alabama Specialty Hospital has been functioning inside Athens-Limestone Hospital for about a year as it sought the approvals from CMS and other agencies.

It already has been accredited by The Joint Commission, garnered a certificate of need from the state for 40 beds and cleared a life safety inspection by the Alabama Department of Public Health.

To date, the hospital has treated about 40 patients, including 20 non-LTACH patients admitted as part of The Joint Commission accreditation process.

Now that the hospital is through its CMS approval, Maxwell said hospital officials are working to reach agreements with insurance providers. For the time being, the hospital can only accept Medicare patients.

With 30 to 40 employees currently, Maxwell said the hospital will be hiring additional medical staff as it ramps up operations, though exact employee counts were not available.

While located inside Athens-Limestone Hospital on West Market Street, North Alabama Specialty Hospital is not part of that hospital.

It leases space from the Athens-Limestone Hospital and is managed by Louisiana-based Acadiana Management Group, a health provider that specializes in LTACHs.

Maxwell said the specialty hospital, which operates 31 beds, could expand into adjacent space in the future. It is licensed for an additional nine beds.

The LTACH keeps separate financials from Athens-Limestone and answers to its own board, though it has an agreement to utilize Athens-Limestone's ancillary services such as lab testing and X-ray services.

David Pryor, Athens-Limestone Hospital president, said his hospital will be providing additional services and health care specialties to support the LTACH. Those services ultimately will benefit the entire community, he said in a statement, though he did not elaborate on what specialties and services would be added.

News of the LTACH comes after Huntsville Hospital Health System entered a 40-year lease agreement for the Athens-Limestone facility in January. Athens-Limestone became a Huntsville Hospital Health System affiliate in 2007.

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