In 2007, Liberty Medical Center began operating as a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital (CAH). Critical Access Hospitals provide essential services to a community and are reimbursed by Medicare on a “reasonable cost basis” for services provided to Medicare patients.
The CAH program was designed to improve rural health care access and reduce hospital closures. The reimbursement that CAH receives is intended to improve their financial performance and thereby reduce hospital closures. Liberty Medical Center is certified for 25 extended care beds or “Swing Beds.” Patients may be transferred from a hospital bed to a swing bed for a period of continued care based upon medical need.