Six months later, Saline County hospital finds success as Rural Emergency Hospital

FRIEND, NEB. - Finding quality health care and immediate medical assistance can sometimes be difficult when living in rural America.

However, six months ago, Friend Community Healthcare System became Nebraska's First Rural Emergency Hospital, with the goal being to lessen that burden. Hospital CEO Jared Chaffin explains.

“Basically we have a 24/7 Emergency Department, we can also do out patient services and have a rural health clinic on site,” Chaffin said. “REH means we cannot do in-patient or swing beds, but anything else we can do just like any other normal hospital.”

The hospital officially became an REH in January, guaranteeing them $3.2-million per year, which Chaffin says has helped the hospital gain financial stability. It also means their emergency department is in it for the long haul.

“Since we can’t do in-patient or swing bed anymore, we’ve been able to put 100% of our attention to our emergency department, out patient, and clinic,” Chaffin said. “We’ve definitely seen a significant influx of patients in those areas.”

As a result, Chaffin says they’ve doubled their clinic volume. With the nearest hospital being 20-30 minutes away, Chaffin says being an REH is crucial as someone in a life-threatening situation may not have 20-30 minutes to receive proper care.

“Us being here, we can stabilize patients needing emergent care and we can get them transferred out if they need a higher level of care.”

Friend Community Healthcare System is holding a ribbon cutting to celebrate the transition on Friday, Aug. 15 from 2:15-5 p.m. at the hospital.