Oneida, Tenn.-based Big South Fork Medical Center missed payroll Aug. 16, an issue the hospital has experienced previously, the Independent Herald reported Aug. 17.
The medical center is owned by West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Rennova Health.
An internal email shared with the Independent Herald and posted on Facebook by an employee shows Rennova's vice president of human resources informing employees that "payroll is not fully funded" and that the remainder of funding is expected on or before Aug. 20.
The hospital posted a statement on Facebook on Aug. 19, which said that it had received a drop in payments from payers, including Medicare, in the past few months.
"There were a number of causes, all of which are rectified or in the process of being rectified and cash flow is expected to return to normal levels from this month forward again," the statement said. "Regrettably the unexpected drop in cash flow has affected the release of our recent payroll."
In March 2021, the Herald reported that employees said they had not been paid for about six weeks. A similar issue was reported in January 2020 when employees were still missing a paycheck after receiving weeks-delayed checks on Jan. 24, according to NBC affiliate WBIR.
CMS approved a critical access hospital designation for the medical center in December 2021, which allowed it increased Medicare reimbursement.