Physicians and patients were locked out of Heights Hospital in Houston on Jan. 18 after its management failed to pay rent, according to a notice posted on the door of the building.
"Please be advised that the door locks to the leased premises have been changed and tenant shall be excluded therefrom due to non-payment of rent," the note read, according to TV station KHOU.
In 2017, AMD Global, a Houston-based real estate developer, purchased Heights Hospital and created two companies to manage the medical center: 1917 Ashland Venture and 1917 Heights Hospital, according to the Houston Chronicle. The letter informing physicians and patients of the lockout was addressed to both entities. New keys will be given when past-due rent and fees are paid, the notice said, according to ABC 13.
Physicians weren't notified of the lockout in advance and tried to treat patients in the parking lot Jan. 18.
"I tried to contact the owners," Felicity Mack, MD, a physician at the hospital, told ABC 13. "They aren't responding. The title company is not responding. We are really not getting any answers, but at the end of the day, my primary concern, like I said, is my patients."
Heights Hospital was once an acute care hospital but now largely provides outpatient and specialty care, according to the Houston Chronicle.