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To be eligible for critical access hospital accreditation, the following requirements are needed:

• Has been designated by the state as a critical access hospital
• Is located in a rural area or is treated as rural
• Is located more than a 35-mile drive from any other hospital
• Maintains no more than 25 inpatient beds
• Maintains an annual average length of stay of 96 hours per patient for acute inpatient care
• Complies with all CAH Conditions of Participation, including the requirement to make available 24-hour emergency care services 7 days per week. 

A critical access hospital that is new to Â鶹´«Ã½ must have one active inpatient case and 10 inpatient records at the time of the survey. A critical access hospital that is seeking Medicare certification and is new to Â鶹´«Ã½ must have one active inpatient case and 20 inpatient records at the time of the survey.