West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Rennova Health is taking steps to reopen Jamestown (Tenn.) Regional Medical Center after closing the 85-bed hospital in June, according to the Independent Herald.
CMS terminated its provider agreement with Jamestown Regional on June 12, and the hospital abruptly shut down the next day.
In a statement to the Independent Herald, Rennova, which owns Jamestown Regional, said mistakes made during the transition to a new billing company in December 2018 led to financial challenges at the hospital. The company said mistakes made during the billing company switch also caused other problems, including the decision by CMS to terminate the hospital's Medicare and Medicaid funding.
Rennova said the hospital closure is temporary and it has applied to restore Jamestown Regional's provider agreement with CMS. A Medicare administrative contractor recently completed its assessment of the application and made a recommendation for approval to the Tennessee Department of Health, a spokesperson for Rennova told the Independent Herald on Aug. 19.
The spokesperson said the hospital will begin rehiring staff and preparing for surveys. State inspectors, acting on CMS' behalf, will conduct the surveys to ensure the hospital is in compliance with Medicare's conditions of participation. CMS will not approve or deny the hospital's application until it determines whether all Medicare conditions are met, according to the report.
"This is great news and enables us to make plans and develop a schedule to reopen the hospital," Jamestown Regional Medical Center CEO Michael Alexander told the Independent Herald. "We are excited to reopen and provide healthcare to the local and surrounding area and while we do not yet have a date set, we will be working diligently to ensure reopening happens as soon as possible."
Mr. Alexander began serving as CEO of Jamestown Regional on June 10, just three days before the hospital shut down.
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