Health News
Another rural Kentucky hospital is merging with a larger hospital system in order to keep its doors open.
T.J. Regional Health, the parent company of T.J. Samson Community Hospital in Glasgow, just announced its plan to buy Westlake Regional Hospital in Columbia and its clinics, according to a news release.
?Westlake has been an important part of the healthcare infrastructure of Columbia and Adair County for 35 years," T.J. Regional Health President and CEO Bud Wethington said in the release. "We see great opportunities to collaborate with the physicians and employees to grow the health care services and continue its efforts to advance the health status across the region.?
Westlake is owned and operated by Adair County Public Hospital Corp. and the Adair County Hospital District, both of which are in bankruptcy.
The Glasgow hospital has recently cut and adjusted salaries and offered early retirement to reduce costs, and was surprised when The Medical Center at Bowling Green bought Caverna Memorial Hospital in Horse Cave, which referred many patients to Glasgow. Now the Glasgow hospital looks to rebuild its network by buying the one in Columbia.
Metcalfe County, between Glasgow and Columbia, has no hospital. The Columbia hospital is close to the tax-supported Russell County Hospital in Russell Springs, a critical-access hospital that was managed by Baptist Health Lexington until about a year and a half ago.
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Health News
Another rural Ky. hospital will become part of a new group to stay afloat; Glasgow's hospital is buying Columbia's bankrupt one
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| ColumbiaMagazine.com |
T.J. Regional Health, the parent company of T.J. Samson Community Hospital in Glasgow, just announced its plan to buy Westlake Regional Hospital in Columbia and its clinics, according to a news release.
?Westlake has been an important part of the healthcare infrastructure of Columbia and Adair County for 35 years," T.J. Regional Health President and CEO Bud Wethington said in the release. "We see great opportunities to collaborate with the physicians and employees to grow the health care services and continue its efforts to advance the health status across the region.?
The Glasgow hospital has recently cut and adjusted salaries and offered early retirement to reduce costs, and was surprised when The Medical Center at Bowling Green bought Caverna Memorial Hospital in Horse Cave, which referred many patients to Glasgow. Now the Glasgow hospital looks to rebuild its network by buying the one in Columbia.
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| (Base map from Google maps) |
The proposed acquisition is contingent upon multiple factors, including reaching certain agreements with creditors, confirmation of a Chapter 9 bankruptcy plan by a federal bankruptcy judge and of approvals from state and federal regulators.
More consolidations are expected. Fleming County Hospital in Flemingsburg recently merged with a larger hospital system to stay afloat. Rural hospitals in Nicholas and Fulton counties have closed in the last year.
- Carlisle Hospital Closes, Making Nicholas County The 40th Kentucky County Without A Hospital
Fully one-third of Kentucky's counties will not have a hospital, following the closure of Nicholas County Hospital in Carlisle. That will make Nicholas the 40th county without a hospital, according to the Kentucky Hospital Association. The hospital...
- Adair County Hospital District Files Chapter 9 Bankruptcy
In a move perhaps unprecedented in Kentucky, the Adair County Hospital District has voted to file for protection under Chapter 9 of the federal bankruptcy code, the same chapter used by bankrupt cities such as Detroit. The district has a $20 million debt,...
- Fiscal-cliff Deal Revives Program That Helps Rural Hospitals Dependent On Medicare; 200 In Nation, 10 In Kentucky
Even though most of the hospital industry wasn't happy with the fiscal-cliff deal that will only pay half the $30 billion needed to avoid a 27 percent Medicare fee cut for doctors, the deal gave about 200 rural hospitals, including 10 in Kentucky,...
- Central Baptist Takes Over Russell County Hospital
Russell County Hospital in Russell Springs will be managed by Lexington's Central Baptist Hospital, at least for the next three years. The deal announced this week is the latest in a growing consolidation of rural hospitals with larger, urban facilities,...
- As Debt Deepens And Auditors Arrive, Adair County Hospital Ceo Resigns And Is Apparently Escorted From The Building
The CEO of Westlake Regional Hospital in Columbia "resigned Monday morning and was apparently escorted out of the hospital," reports the Adair County Community Voice. Rusty Tungate "and eight others turned in their resignations just one day before a consulting...