10.07.06 - POST FALLS, IDAHO – Northern Idaho Advanced Care Hospital has successfully completed its Medicare certification, giving it the distinction of being the only licensed long term acute care hospital in the Inland Northwest.

Northern Idaho Advanced Care Hospital (NIACH), which has been caring for patients since February, achieved this certification earlier this month. The certification means the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recognize NIACH as a long-term acute care hospital.

Unlike nursing homes and skilled nursing centers, Northern Idaho Advanced Care Hospital will take seriously ill patients from the acute hospital setting with the goal of stabilizing the patient and, through advanced medical care and rehabilitation, move them toward independence or the next appropriate level of care.

"This certification validates the care we have been delivering for the past eight months,” said Rick Richards, CEO. “Little changes for our patients with this classification because we have truly operated as a long term acute care hospital since we opened our doors earlier this year.”

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services stipulate that a hospital seeking long term acute care status must have a 25-day length of stay average for patients. This requirement is meant to analyze the hospital’s ability to care for high acuity patients for extended periods.

"NIACH being certified as a long term acute care hospital demonstrates our abilities to care for those patients who require highly trained staff to meet their medical needs,” Richards added.

The intense level of services offered at Northern Idaho Advanced Care Hospital is unlike any other in the region. To bring the patient to their highest level of self-sufficiency, a team comprised of doctors, social workers, therapists and nurses works with the patient and family members on a daily basis. Many patients, once they require a lower level of care, will be discharged from NIACH to other regional facilities that handle that specific level, such as acute rehabilitation or skilled nursing.

The 40-bed facility features eight high-observation rooms, a 6,000 square-foot therapy gym, aquatic therapy pool, outdoor therapy courtyard and full-service bistro. The hospital is outfitted with state-of-the-art digital imaging technology along with the latest in information technology, linking it to dozens of other medical facilities throughout the Northwest.

The Northern Idaho Advanced Care Hospital is part of a network of rehabilitation and long-term acute care hospitals throughout the western states operated by Ernest Health, Inc.

Learn more by going to NIACH.ernesthealth.com