Hospitals eligible for Critical Access Hospital designation must meet the following parameters: 

• Be a public hospital located in a rural area
• Be a current Medicare provider
• Be located 35 miles from another health care facility [15 miles in a mountainous area with secondary roads] or meets the state’s definition of a necessary provider (After January 1, 2006, states will no longer have authority to designate hospitals as "necessary providers.")
• Maintain no more than 25 beds which includes acute care and swing beds
• Meet the 96-hour average length of stay