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
ColumbiaMagazine.com 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...
- Adair County Residents Will Get An Extra Tax Bill As Trustees Of Bankrupt Hospital Vote To Levy A Tax To Pay Its Debts
Facing a $20 million debt and in bankruptcy, the Adair County Hospital District trustees voted unanimously Oct. 4 to impose a 10 cents-per-$100 value property tax, effective immediately. In August, in a move perhaps unprecedented in Kentucky, the district...
- Knox County Converting Ambulance Tax, Taking 3/8 Of Health Tax And Asking Library For Same In Order To Save Hospital
The Knox County Fiscal Court and the Knox County Board of Health reached a deal Monday to aid its debt-laden county hospital's recovery from bankruptcy by diverting, at least temporarily, 37.5 percent of local health tax revenue to the hospital, asking...
- In Front-page Editorial, Rural Weekly In Adair County Demands That Board Members Of County-owned Hospital Resign
In our experience, most weekly newspapers don't have editorial pages, much less editorials, so when one puts an editorial on the front page and also runs an editorial about the decision, and the work is well-written and well-argued, it's worth...
- Adair County Community Voice Newspaper, Local Health Department Sponsor Community Health Challenge
Residents of Adair County should be getting more fit in the new year, thanks to community-wide competition sponsored by the local health department and one of the Columbia newspapers. The Adair County Community Voice and the Lake Cumberland-Adair County...
Health News
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 firm is scheduled to review the hospital's finances and operations."
Last week, the hospital's board hired Spectrum Health Partners LLC "to provide a complete review of the hospital?s operations and finances," beginning tomorrow, the Community Voice reports. Board Chairman James Evans told the newspaper that the firm will help find an interim administrator, probably by Wednesday.
"Evans would not elaborate on discussions with Tungate prior to his resignation," the Voice reports. "Tungate and the hospital renewed their contract in November. Tungate was serving as administrator to Westlake and has contracts with two other hospitals. His salary for services to Westlake was $195,000." (Read more)
UPDATE, Feb. 2: Tungate and other administrators are part of a team that also provides management for Jane Todd Crawford Memorial Hospital in Greensburg and Casey County Hospital in Liberty. Tungate will remain CEO of both hospitals, Larry Rowell reports in the Casey County News. Tungate told Rowell that the Adair County board was no longer willing to share management with the other hospitals, and that he is the longest-tenured hospital CEO in Kentucky. (Read more)
In a story in last week's Voice, Editor-Publisher Sharon Burton quoted Evans as saying, "We're losing $500,000 a year and we're deep in debt." The hospital recently borrowed $12.5 million. Adair County owns the hospital, and the board members are appointed by the county judge-executive with approval of the fiscal court. Judge-Executive Ann Melton referred to the consultants' work as a partial "audit."
Last week, the hospital's board hired Spectrum Health Partners LLC "to provide a complete review of the hospital?s operations and finances," beginning tomorrow, the Community Voice reports. Board Chairman James Evans told the newspaper that the firm will help find an interim administrator, probably by Wednesday.
"Evans would not elaborate on discussions with Tungate prior to his resignation," the Voice reports. "Tungate and the hospital renewed their contract in November. Tungate was serving as administrator to Westlake and has contracts with two other hospitals. His salary for services to Westlake was $195,000." (Read more)
UPDATE, Feb. 2: Tungate and other administrators are part of a team that also provides management for Jane Todd Crawford Memorial Hospital in Greensburg and Casey County Hospital in Liberty. Tungate will remain CEO of both hospitals, Larry Rowell reports in the Casey County News. Tungate told Rowell that the Adair County board was no longer willing to share management with the other hospitals, and that he is the longest-tenured hospital CEO in Kentucky. (Read more)
In a story in last week's Voice, Editor-Publisher Sharon Burton quoted Evans as saying, "We're losing $500,000 a year and we're deep in debt." The hospital recently borrowed $12.5 million. Adair County owns the hospital, and the board members are appointed by the county judge-executive with approval of the fiscal court. Judge-Executive Ann Melton referred to the consultants' work as a partial "audit."
- Another Rural Ky. Hospital Will Become Part Of A New Group To Stay Afloat; Glasgow's Hospital Is Buying Columbia's Bankrupt One
ColumbiaMagazine.com 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...
- Adair County Residents Will Get An Extra Tax Bill As Trustees Of Bankrupt Hospital Vote To Levy A Tax To Pay Its Debts
Facing a $20 million debt and in bankruptcy, the Adair County Hospital District trustees voted unanimously Oct. 4 to impose a 10 cents-per-$100 value property tax, effective immediately. In August, in a move perhaps unprecedented in Kentucky, the district...
- Knox County Converting Ambulance Tax, Taking 3/8 Of Health Tax And Asking Library For Same In Order To Save Hospital
The Knox County Fiscal Court and the Knox County Board of Health reached a deal Monday to aid its debt-laden county hospital's recovery from bankruptcy by diverting, at least temporarily, 37.5 percent of local health tax revenue to the hospital, asking...
- In Front-page Editorial, Rural Weekly In Adair County Demands That Board Members Of County-owned Hospital Resign
In our experience, most weekly newspapers don't have editorial pages, much less editorials, so when one puts an editorial on the front page and also runs an editorial about the decision, and the work is well-written and well-argued, it's worth...
- Adair County Community Voice Newspaper, Local Health Department Sponsor Community Health Challenge
Residents of Adair County should be getting more fit in the new year, thanks to community-wide competition sponsored by the local health department and one of the Columbia newspapers. The Adair County Community Voice and the Lake Cumberland-Adair County...