When Berkshire Health Systems returned North Adams Regional Hospital to full service in March a decade after its abrupt closure, much was made of its reliance on critical access funding from the federal government — so much so that a rule change on the federal level was necessary beforehand.
“When you think about what critical access hospitals can do, they can respond to the needs of the community- What you need, what your family needs, what your parents need," said Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services Katie Walsh. "And they can flex the beds in the way that makes the most sense for the communities they serve. And that critical access flexibility is why this hospital will be standing many, many years from now, and will be will be here to serve this community.”
The hospital finally secured its critical access status from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on July 31st, retroactive to July 12th — almost four months after the ribbon cutting.
