For more than a year and a half in 2000 and 2001, Bernie Poe and other concerned residents of Owen County worked hard to purchase the county’s struggling hospital from health care group Epitome.
That sale became final in September 2001.
Since then, Poe, members of the New Horizons Hosptial Board and supporters of the New Horizons Medical Foundation have spent considerable time and dollars to improve the health care services provided to the community by the hospital.
Last week they were rewarded with news that New Horizons Medical Center has been given a three-year accreditation by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) under its Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP).
“This means we meet more than the minimum standards in health care services,” Poe said last week. “This was the first time we’d attempted this accreditation. It usually takes a couple of attempts to accomplish the accreditation.”
“I applaud Bernie and his entire staff for this accomplishment,” said Bob Marshall, chairman of the New Horizons Medical Foundation, which was organized to support the efforts of the hospital. “To me it signals another step that the hospital has taken to ensure the best available health care services for this community. As CEO of one of the largest employers in the county, it should mean we will have better services available to and for our employees.”
He added that as chairman of the foundation, the accreditation announcement makes him “feel good about our efforts to assist the hospital in the limited ways we have to date.”
The foundation has helped purchase medical equipment, recruit physicians and provide scholarships to local residents seeking medical careers.
The accreditation is unique in the state.
The only other hospital in Kentucky currently accredited under the program is Manchester Memorial Hospital in Clay County, according to the organization’s Web site.
“The American Osteopathic Association’s Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program has been providing medical facilities with an objective review of their services since 1945,” a statement on the Web site reads. “The program, which has also been accrediting healthcare facilities for over 30 years under Medicare, is recognized nationally by the federal government, state governments, insurance carriers and managed care organizations.”
The Web site also states that the program originally began as a way to assure that osteopathic students received their training in facilities that provided a high quality of patient care. It is a cost-effective, user-friendly means to validate the quality of care provided by a facility.
HFAP is one of only two voluntary accreditation programs in the United States authorized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to survey hospitals under Medicare. The AOA has also developed accreditation requirements for ambulatory care/surgery, mental health, substance abuse, and physical rehabilitation medicine facilities.
Poe said that the accreditation signifies to the communitty that the quality of patient care is at an all-time high.
“For the patient it means the quality of care is currently above the quality of care required by the state to operate,” he added. “This was one of goals when we purchased the facility, to get this hospital accredited.”
In addition to signifying improved quality of care, Poe explained the accreditation will also open doors to providing service to patients under some insurance plans.
“For example, we’ve never been able to serve Aetna and Cigna patients,” he said. “Now we’ll be able to meet those two companies’ requirements.”
He added that the accreditation is something employees can be proud of and something they can note on their resumes.
Since Poe took over the administration of the facility in September 2001, the hospital has added four physicians and a nurse practitioner to its staff. In addition to offering in-patient and emergency services, the New Horizons Family Practice and Specialty clinics also offer a variety of routine and special care services to residents of the community.
The facility still struggles to maintain cash flow because of the large amount of indigent care it provides to the community. In 2005, more than $1.5 million in care was provided to patients who did not have insurance or were not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid coverage.
“This is definitely a milestone for this hospital and for this community,” Poe said.
“This entire community should take pride and be thankful in the efforts being put forth by Bernie and his staff to ensure we have a medical facility in Owen County of which we can all be proud,” Marshall added.

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