North Runnels Hospital in Winters, Texas, does not currently have enough funds to make payroll and is at risk of closing, local news outlet bigcountryhomepage.com reported April 21.
North Runnels County Health District oversees the 12-bed critical access hospital, which also includes a rural health clinic, nursing home, home health and emergency medical services, according to its website.
Hospital leaders met April 19 to discuss whether facilities, such as the hospital, nursing home and EMS services, should close or stay open, according to the report. The hospital district has been losing money since the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It's really hard to make payroll, to make everything else work, and my first priority is to make payroll," Nicholas Lewis, CEO of North Runnels County Hospital District, said during the public meeting. "The nursing home represents the majority of the loss."
The hospital will wait until May 15 for a potential buyer for its nursing home, according to the report.
The board will meet again on April 23 and April 24 to discuss a further plan of action, according to notices posted on its Facebook page. The agenda will include whether or not the hospital should seek to increase its loan from The First State Bank in Abernathy, Texas, by up to $150,000 and if it should increase the length of its Medicare cost report payback to a maximum of 60 months.
Becker's has reached out to the hospital for comment and will update this story as more information becomes available.