Southwest Georgia Regional Medical Center, a 25-bed critical access hospital in Cuthbert, Ga., will close in October due to financial strain worsened by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a local WFXL Fox report.
The Randolph County Hospital Authority unanimously voted to close the hospital and announced the decision July 24. The expected date of closure is Oct. 22.
Kim Gilman, CEO of the hospital, said it has tried to secure over $10 million in funding for critical facility improvements but was unable to do so.
The hospital "had been operating on the brink for years and before the COVID-19 crisis; we had not been able to finalize a workable plan to ensure the hospital's future success. Once the crisis hit, it simply pushed our hospital past the point of no return," she said.
About 50 employees will be affected by the hospital closure. Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, which manages the regional medical center, has committed to placing as many of those employees as possible elsewhere in the health system.