St. Joseph's receives CAH designation

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As of July 1, St. Joseph’s Hosptial and Health Center achieved the status of a Critical Access Hospital, after a year of planning and reorganizing.

Gov. John Hoeven, in conjunction with Congressman Earl Pomeroy and Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgam, worked together with Richardton Hospital, a task force and St. Joseph’s administration and board of directors to help Richardton Hospital change over to long-term healthcare status and St. Joseph’s to the critical access status. Hospital staff and the community played a major role.

“We‘re excited about the change in status, It takes our hospital in a positive direction. The staff worked diligently to make this happen, and we couldn‘t have done it without the community‘s support,” said Michelle Hinrichs, executive director of quality for St. Joseph’s.

“We are pleased to be able to continue offering the same quality service with the opportunity to grow to meet the community‘s needs,” she added.

With the designation, services will not be limited and each person who requires medical attention will continue to receive it at the hospital.

The number of doctors will not decrease and three doctors have been added to the staff recently. Prices will not increase, according to a press release.

Tags: st. joseph's hospital and health care center, news, local