East Texas Medical Center-Trinity has closed, which resulted in 60 employees being laid off, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act notice filed with the Texas Workforce Commission.
The hospital closed after Tyler-based East Texas Medical Center decided not to renew its lease of the facility, according to KTRE. ETMC said a number of factors contributed to its decision not to renew the lease, including poor utilization and declining reimbursement rates, according to the report.
In June, Perry Henderson, ETMC senior vice president for affiliate operations, said the decision not to extend the lease of the Trinity facility was "an extremely difficult one."
"ETMC has leased this hospital for 20 years, so this decision is one we struggled with and did not make lightly," said Mr. Henderson. "However, the reality of the situation is that due to changes in healthcare and low patient volumes at this facility, we can no longer afford to operate a hospital in this community."
ETMC said it would help affected employees look for other jobs within ETMC or at other facilities.
With ETMC-Trinity shuttered, residents will have to travel 20 miles to the nearest hospital, according to the Weatherford Democrat.
Lufkin, Texas-based CHI St. Luke's Health-Memorial is pursuing a management service agreement with the Trinity Memorial Hospital District Board to preserve outpatient services in Trinity.
"We understand the residents in Trinity are facing a serious health care challenge," CHI St. Luke's Health-Memorial Market CEO Monte Bostwick told KTRE. "Everyone deserves high quality health care close to home. We want to provide that for the people of Trinity by retaining the outpatient providers they've come to know and love at their ETMC Physicians' Clinic and by offering any assistance necessary."
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