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Description

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The Copper Queen Community Hospital CQCH located in Bisbee is a notforprofit fullservice community health care facility In 2008 CQCH was the second largest employer in Bisbee with 174 fulltime equivalent employees a fulltime equivalent employee equals one fulltime or two parttime employees The local medical staff includes 23 physicians 12 are local fully active physicians and 11 are consultants

The hospital provides a broad range of inpatient and outpatient services including acute care outpatient surgery 24hour emergency services cardiopulmonary services rehabilitation services home health care an occupational medicine department a fullservice laboratory and diagnostic imaging which includes a stateoftheart fluoroscopy unit flat plate basic radiology unit DexaScan bone density unit spiral CT scanner mammography services ultrasound onsite experienced and professional radiologists and teleradiology for speedy diagnostic capability CQCH serves more than 25000 patients many of whom are unemployed have low family incomes and are uninsured or underinsured

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History

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Historically Copper Queen Community Hospital can trace its roots to beginnings in various locations and buildings dating back over 120 years ago

The present hospital was constructed in 1961 and was operated by the Phelps Dodge Corporation to service the medical needs of the booming local copper industry Hospital ownership passed on to the Cochise County Hospital Association then to a local nonprofit community group in 1977 That group the Bisbee Hospital Association BHA continues to own and operate the hospital as the center of local health care resources through its volunteer Board of Directors elected from the BHA membership

In recent years CQCH has expanded its services to include diagnostic services in outlying areas both in physician offices and in slidingfeescale clinics In late 2003 the hospital completed a 46 million renovation project including infrastructure improvements to the heating ventilating and electrical systems and interior The Imaging ServicesRadiology Department was totally refurbished with new fluoroscopy flat plate xray CT scanner and bone density scanner Other areas of the hospital that received major improvements were the medicalsurgical unit food services and cardiopulmonary department In 2004 the hospital absorbed the former Copper Cities Physicians Practice and established Rural Health Clinics in Bisbee and Douglas In 2007 CQCH opened a new clinic in the PalominasHereford area of Cochise County The 2900squarefoot PalominasHereford Rural Health Clinic has six exam rooms and is staffed by two physicians a physician assistant and a pediatric nurse practitioner Services include office visits immunizations and laboratory services Also in 2007 CQCH installed Trauma Telemedicine technology which gives emergency room doctors at the hospital a realtime video and audio connection with trauma doctors at University Medical Center in Tucson who are then able to guide emergency room staff to facilitate patient stabilization prior to transfer

In 2008 CQCH instituted teledermatology services and Coumadin clinics in the Rural Health Centers Also in 2008 the hospital signed on with the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix to provide Stroke Telemedicine for Rural Residents STARR The STARR system provides physicians at the hospital with twoway audiovisual communication with top neurologists throughout the state to treat acute stroke victims The systems allows for patients to be examined and stabilized prior to transport if necessary or to be treated locally without transport CQCH has also implemented Electronic Medical Records and uses telemonitors in patients homes as part of their Copper Valley Home Health program In October CQCH received a grant to purchase and install digitized xray systems in the hospital and its clinics which will give them the capability of sending images that may be read instantly in physicians homes or offices so that diagnoses may be made rapidly

In recent years CQCH has incurred significant costs treating illegal immigrants Moreover many Mexican nationals cross the border legally through what is termed compassionate entry whereby ambulances transport uninsured Mexican nationals to the US border where they are met by ambulances in the United States and transported to area hospitals including CQCH These uncompensated services have put a financial strain on the hospital and its staff In late 2004 changes to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regulations resulted in increased federal aid to Arizona hospitals to help offset uncompensated costs resulting from illegal immigration however as of late 2008 the federal reimbursement payments were in danger of not being renewed for the 2009 federal budget

CQCH is licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services and is certified as a service provider by Medicare CQCH is one of only four hospitals in Arizona to be recognized as one of the 100 Top Regional Hospitals This award recognizes hospitals for clinical excellence and efficient delivery of care In 2008 the Rural Health Association presented the Inspiring Rural Health Program Award to the CQCH teledermatology program which the hospital provides in collaboration with the Carondelet Healthcare Network