Pulaski Memorial Hospital to Apply for Rural Health Clinic Designation for Francesville Office

Pulaski Memorial Hospital is hoping to get a Rural Health Clinic designation for its Francesville nurse practitioner’s office. The Pulaski County Commissioners approved a resolution Monday authorizing the hospital to apply for the designation.

Hospital Director of Business Development Gregg Malott told the commissioners it will simply be an additional certification for the existing office. “This certification basically allows for some additional reimbursement on the Medicare and Medicaid fee schedule,” he explained, “and the reason why we can do that is the federal government has a designation, a Rural Health Clinic designation, that allows for kind of a cost-based reimbursement system.”

Malott said the designation is for facilities that cater to populations or areas that are medically under-served, or areas with a shortage of health care professionals. He added that the goal of the Rural Health Clinic program is to maintain access to health care in rural communities.