Charlton Memorial Hospital, a 25-bed critical access hospital based in Folkston, Ga., will suspend all hospital operations by Friday.
Charlton Memorial will be the third rural hospital in Georgia to close this year. Calhoun Memorial Hospital in Arlington closed in February, and Stewart-Webster Hospital in Richland shut down in March.
According to a Georgia Health News report, the Hospital Authority of Charlton County decided to close Charlton Memorial "due to financial instability." CEO H.D. Cannington said the hospital has almost $6 million of debt. Charlton Memorial has also seen rising amounts of uncompensated care. Roughly 160 employees will lose their jobs, according to figures on the hospital's website.
The next closest hospital for Folkston-area residents is Southeast Georgia Health System's Camden campus in St. Marys, which is roughly 30 miles away.
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