Arkansas' Legislative Joint Auditing Committee signed off on an audit of De Queen-based Sevier County Medical Center's use of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, the Arkansas Advocate reported Dec. 8.
The hospital received $6.25 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds in December 2022, according to the report. The hospital opened the following month. Lori House, the hospital's CEO, told a legislative committee that the funds were needed in order to avoid "a lot more debt than we originally hoped for."
Sevier County Medical Center had about $2 million on hand at the time, but most of the money was earmarked to pay the contractor that built the facility, according to the report. The $6.25 million was meant to pay for hospital equipment and furnishings. State Sen. Jimmy Hickey said he has heard concerns that the hospital has been delinquent in paying some of the suppliers of the hospital's construction materials.
Ms. House told the news outlet that building the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic presented "tremendous financial challenges," especially "with zero accounts receivable to lean on."
"We do indeed have creditors that are owed and we have a plan to repay them, while still providing our area with great healthcare," she told Arkansas Advocate. "As far as the ARPA funds are concerned, we received $6.25 million dollars and have submitted all documents accounting for every penny spent, and exactly by the rules of spending set forth by the state."