Lee County Looking For Critical Access Designation

Ballad Health officials have submitted the application to get the new Lee County Community Hospital…America’s newest rural hospital, designated as a Critical Access Hospital. The designation is meant to reduce the vulnerability of rural hospitals and improve access to healthcare by keeping essential services in rural communities. To obtain Critical Access Hospital designation, eligible hospitals must meet certain conditions such as having 25 or fewer acute care impatient beds, and be more than 35 miles from another hospital or be more than a 15 mile drive from another hospital. Lee County Community Hospital is set to open in the fall of 2020.