Officials at Pioneer Community Hospital of Newton say the hospital will not accept any new patients after Dec. 1.

    The hospital’s emergency department will also close Dec. 1. Patients already admitted to the facility will be discharged upon the completion of their care and treatment, according to a press release.

    Pioneer Community Hospital of Newton Administrator Mark Norman could not be reached for comment Thursday but emailed the press release to The Star after a message was left on his voicemail requesting the information.

    “Due to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) re-interpretation of their Critical Access Hospital (CAH) distance requirement regulation, we are regrettably announcing the closure of Pioneer Community Hospital of Newton,” the press release states.

    “Residents of Newton County in need of future emergency medical care will need to seek the attention at another hospital in Forest, Meridian or Union,” the press release states.

    “In September of 2010, USDA allowed Pioneer Community Hospital of Newton to purchase the hospital from the previous owner, with the CAH designation being an essential requirement for the transfer to occur,” according to the press release. “The loss of the CAH designation makes the operation of the hospital no longer financially feasible.”

    According to the press release, revised interpretation of the mileage regulation, “is a complete reversal of CMS’ original interpretation that allowed the facility to remain financially operational for the past five years.”

    Newton Mayor David Carr learned of the closure Thursday.

    “Everybody knew something was coming, and it wasn’t going to be good,” Carr said.

    The hospital is owned by Magee-based Pioneer Health Services, which also owns or manages several other hospitals in Mississippi, including Lackey Memorial Hospital in Forest.

    “Hospitals have to be a certain distance from each other to qualify for federal money,” said State Rep. Randy Rushing of District 78, which includes Pioneer Community Hospital of Newton.  “Pioneer is apparently too close to the hospital in Scott County. That’s my understanding of it.”

    According to the Rural Assistance Center website, a Critical Access Hospital must have 25 or fewer acute care inpatient beds and must be located more than 35 miles from another hospital, although there are are exceptions to the latter. Critical Access Hospitals designated as “necessary providers” by their state prior to Jan. 1, 2006 are exempt from the distance requirements.

     Pioneer Community Hospital of Newton offers inpatient services such as acute care, swing bed and geriopsych services, according to the hospital’s website.

    Outpatient services consist of emergent care, two rural health clinics, radiology, laboratory, respiratory, outpatient behavioral health, physical, occupational and speech therapy. Surgery includes general, orthopedic and dental.