The Hawk Eye
WEST BURLINGTON – Great River Medical Center and Fort Madison Community Hospital will combine into one hospital with one name to reach a new federal classification, hospital officials announced Wednesday.
They will be known as Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center, if an application to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for Sole Community Hospital Classification is approved in 2021.
The SCH program was created to maintain access to needed health services for Medicare beneficiaries in rural communities by providing greater reimbursement.
Hospitals must meet specific criteria for SCH classification, including distance from other hospitals.
To meet the proximity requirement, GRMC and FMCH will become one hospital with two campuses. The newly named hospital will operate under parent corporation Great River Health. A reduction in employees is not anticipated, according to a release from Great River Health.