De Queen hospital receives Medicaid services certificate

De QUEEN — Sevier County Medical Center is now a certified health care provider through the federal Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services after receiving its official authorization number this week.

The certification is vital to secure reimbursement for services provided to Medicare and Medicaid recipients and ensures the hospital’s future financial solvency, according to hospital officials.

“It’s a red letter day for us. We’ve been waiting on the news a long time, and it’s a game changer,” hospital Board of Governors President Steve Cole said.

“It’s hard running a hospital without revenue,” he said.

The county-operated hospital opened in January and had to meet the needed 30 inpatient stays before Medicare could conduct a survey on the hospital and begin the process of approving it for reimbursement.

In March, the Sevier County Quorum Court voted 8-1 to use remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds to cover expenses at the new hospital until a bank loan was secured to help cover expenses and payroll.

The amount of remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds was just under $943,000.

The hospital has since received the bank loan.

Hospital officials announced their intention to apply for a $4.5 million loan in February.

They then learned through legal counsel that the process would take longer because state law required the hospital to host a public hearing and then allow for a 30-day public comment period.

The hospital has stayed busy since opening and has been breaking records on numbers of patients treated, especially in the emergency room.

“We broke a record for having 30 in the ER one Saturday recently,” Cole said.

The certification now allows the hospital to branch out on what type of services it provides.

“We are just scratching the surface on what we want to do,” Cole said.

He said any additional services will be based on community needs

The hospital is on U.S. 71 north of De Queen.

Sevier County voters approved a 1% sales tax in a 2019 special election to build the $24 million hospital.

The county’s former hospital, which was owned by an out-of-state company, closed in 2019 after a series of financial setbacks.