GRAVETTE — Major changes, some reorganization as well as expansion of several services at Ozarks Community Hospital in Gravette, were announced Friday in a press release from Morgan Black, OCH Communications Coordinator.

Patient gain in ancillary services, including the addition of an MRI last year, have resulted in expansion of other services at OCH which include a swing-bed program, sleep lab, clinic specialists and the need for additional nurse practitioners, the release noted.

Black explained: “Our swing-bed program will provide an extended care option to individuals who no longer need to be in an acute hospital setting but who are not able to care for themselves at home.”

Expansion of the Ozarks Community Health Clinic, which operates in conjunction with the hospital, is resulting in the addition of two cardiologists, an orthopedic surgeon and an ear, nose and throat specialist. Patients will be able to see them on a monthly basis at the clinic.

Staffing changes have resulted in an unannounced number of employees being let go, but “we are in the process of recruiting additional nurse practitioners to assist with the primary patient volume at the clinic,” Black said.

Another change being made is merging the medical inpatient unit with the OCH Resolutions behavioral health unit. Organizational change and downsizing will allow behavioral health patients to be seen on the third floor for inpatient services.

OCH is operated by Ozarks Community Health headquartered in Springfield, Mo. It reopened the former Gravette Medical Center Hospital, which had been closed several years, as a critical-access hospital on Feb. 29, 2008. It operates a 24/7 emergency room, physical therapy and sleep diagnostic services and laboratory in the 25-bed hospital.

“OCH is proud to serve the northwest Arkansas region and we look forward to meeting patient needs for many years to come,” Black said.

For information about the services offered, visit www.OCHonline.com.

News, Pages 1 on 01/18/2012