Oklahoma Heart Hospital South Campus Receives Medicare Certification
New Hospital Fast Tracks Federal and State Certification Process
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Heart Hospital South Campus has received speedy accreditation from The Joint Commission, giving the newly opened hospital the green light to treat Medicare patients. Earlier the Oklahoma State Health Department certified the hospital to treat state-funded Medicaid patients.
The Joint Commission is an independent, not-for-profit organization responsible for accrediting and certifying more than 17,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. Joint Commission accreditation and certification is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting certain performance standards.
The all-digital, state-of-the-art, $98-million, 163,000 square-foot facility opened its doors January 18th to patients but had to achieve both federal and state accreditation before qualifying to take on Medicare and Medicaid patients.
“Joint Commission accreditation can take as long as two years, but our application for certification and on-site inspection were fast-tracked because we had a completely clean inspection requiring no changes to meet government standards,” said Dr. John Harvey, Oklahoma Heart Hospital South Campus, President and CEO. “Achieving Joint Commission standards so quickly allows us to offer services to a much broader patient population and fill a vital gap in services for south Oklahoma City and eastern Oklahoma County.”
The hospital specializes in cardiovascular care but operates a full-service, 10 bed emergency room with a 24/7 physician presence. The hospital has 16 ICU beds, 30 general cardiovascular rooms, 15 day beds, two operating rooms and three catheterization procedure rooms.
The South Campus facility was built by a consortium of hospitals including Oklahoma Heart Hospital North, Mercy Health Center, Midwest Regional Medical Center and Norman Regional Health System. Oklahoma Heart Hospital North opened in 2002 as the nation’s first all-digital hospital totally dedicated to the care of hearts.
About Oklahoma Heart Hospital:
Oklahoma Heart Hospital opened in August 2002 as the first all-digital hospital in America totally dedicated to the care of hearts. Cardiologists from Oklahoma Cardiovascular Associates partnered with Mercy Health Center to make the hospital a reality. In 2006, demand for cardiovascular services in the region prompted a $98 million expansion at the hospital.
In 2010, Oklahoma Heart Hospital South Campus opened its doors as an all-digital hospital specializing in the care of hearts. The South Campus partnered with Oklahoma Heart Hospital, Mercy Health Center, Norman Regional Health System and Midwest Regional System to bring cardiovascular services to south Oklahoma City and eastern Oklahoma County.
Oklahoma Heart Hospital – Serving the State, Leading the Nation. www.okheart.com