Skyline Hospital, governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners, has always garnered great public support. And nowhere is this more evident than in the series of upgrades it has undergone about every ten years since inception.
Skyline was originally constructed in 1952 through the Hill-Burton Act, with the addition of one wing in the early 1970’s. A second $2.7 million renovation (funded through a super-majority bond) in 1998 enhanced the facility with a surgery suite, an emergency room, physical therapy building, laboratory and admitting area. A year later, the hospital purchased an adjoining seven-acre parcel of land to facilitate our long-range plans.
More recently, Skyline has added specialty services to better serve the community. These include:
- General Surgery
- Infusion Services
- Podiatry
Critical Access Designation
Skyline Hospital has a Critical Access Hospital designation from the State of Washington. The Critical Access Hospital program relieves the financial burden placed upon small rural hospitals. Critical Access Hospitals are allowed more flexibility with federal rules and regulations and are eligible for higher level of reimbursement from the Medicare and Medicaid programs without increasing out-of-pocket costs for patients.
To qualify for the Critical Access Hospital designation, a hospital must meet several criteria:
- Be located in a rural area
- Limited to 25 inpatients per day
- Patients tend to stay relatively short periods of time in the hospital
- Hospital has a family-practice orientation
