Stillwater Medical Perry named first Rural Emergency Hospital in Oklahoma

Posted on: 4/7/23

On April 1, Stillwater Medical Perry became the first Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) in the state. Stillwater Medical Perry submitted their application to become an REH in January 2023 and received their official license from the Oklahoma State Department of Health on March 24.  

Rural health care has been under attack for quite some time in Oklahoma and other states.  Between January 2010 and January 2018, there were 83 rural hospitals across the nation that closed because of lower volumes, increasing cost, and increasing regulatory requirements. In an effort to address these concerns, the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 (CAA) was signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020, and established Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs) as a new Medicare provider.  

As an REH, the hospital will address the community’s emergency and outpatient needs as well as admission for observation care. For any medical treatment that requires a higher level of care or when symptoms indicate that a patient will need a longer length of stay than 24 hours, arrangements will be made to transfer the patient to the appropriate facility. Transfer agreements are already in place.

The additional REH funding, and the ability to condense the size of the Perry facility utilizing approved sales tax will help ensure that local health care is available to Perry and surrounding residents in the future.