CRISFIELD, Md- It's been an agreement that has been in the works for about 18 months - Crisfield-based McCready Health will now operate under Salisbury-based Peninsula Regional Health System. Hospital officials made the announcement on Monday morning.
Officials say financially, McCready has struggled to support the services required to qualify as a hospital.
Over the past decade, officials say hospital usage has dropped dramatically and their current building is aging.
In a press release, McCready Health CEO Kathleen Harrison said:
“The financial reality is that McCready does not maintain a daily census of patients sufficient to support the services required to qualify as a hospital as defined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – and we were approaching the moment when we would lose the hospital because we would not qualify to be one,” said Harrison. “The path to keeping healthcare services in the county became clear: McCready needed to merge with an established and supportive partner like the Peninsula Regional Health System and transition to an FMF.”
This means, McCready will now operate as a Freestanding Medical Facility.
"We will no longer have our inpatient beds, nor will we supply surgery," Harrison said.
But this transition will take time, and McCready will continue to provide its hospital services until Nov. 1.
Following this point, Peninsula Regional Health System will assume ownership and McCready will transition to a FMF.
Harrison says, "Those patients that would require overnight stays for several days or surgery, which is a scheduled procedure will be sent to Peninsula Regional Medical center," she said.
McCready says FMF services will be provided at their current location until an entirely new building is complete, which will provide services like 24/7 emergency care, physical therapy, speech therapy, behavioral health services, family medicine, imaging and laboratory services.
Steven Leonard, President/CEO of Peninsula Regional Health System says, "We're like any other business, and when patients come and see us there are charges and the funding for this will be recouped through those charges--to allow us to make the investment necessary to not only maintain the services that we've talked about, but to build the new facility that we're planning to do," he said.
PRHS says they have purchased land on Route 413 just east of Crisfield and will soon begin design of a new FMF, which will be known as the McCready Health Pavilion. When complete, all FMF services will transition to the new, state-of-the-art location. Design and construction is expected to take up to 24 months.
“This is complete and comprehensive healthcare, which best allows us to continue the McCready mission and tradition of providing effective, efficient and exceptional care in Somerset County," Leonard said.
