Thomasville (Ala.) Regional Medical Center has suspended operations indefinitely amid staffing shortages, with community stakeholders set to meet Sept. 23 to discuss the facility's future.
"Due to staffing shortages, TRMC will suspend operations until further notice," the 29-bed acute care hospital said in a Sept. 20 Facebook post. "Other local hospitals where patients can be seen are Grove Hill Memorial, J. Paul Jones Hospital in Camden and Choctaw General in Butler."
Operations at the hosptial's primary care clinic are also suspended.
Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Allison Day shared more details about what led to the service suspensions in a lengthy statement on Sept. 22, which can be found in full here.
The rural hospital has faced significant financial strain since opening just four years ago.In April, the hospital was listed on a foreclosure filing for nearly $40 million owed on the property.
Local officials were recently notified that cash was short, according to the mayor.
"That has happened more than two dozen times over the last 2 years and the owners always found a way to close the cap," Mr. Day wrote in the social media post. "This time they didn't. Our TRMC employees did not get paid on time last week and some of them had checks bounce."
Meanwhile, a potential $20 million loan to stabilize TRMC remains in limbo. While the hospital told employees and local officials that the loan for Tenor Group — which is under contract to operate the facility — is near approval, the mayor's office confirmed a formal loan application has not yet been filed.
"We did confirm Tenor Group has applied for certification of their tax exempt status, which is required before they can apply for this loan," Mr. Day wrote. "They do expect approval soon on that status, but we have not been able to confirm an actual loan application that has been formally filed," adding that even if an application is filed soon, it could take up to 12 months for approval.
According to Mr. Day, Tenor and other groups remain interested in purchasing TRMC, with deeper discussions slated for the Sept. 23 meeting.
Becker's has reached out to Mr. Day's office and will update the report as more information becomes available.