The mayor of Belhaven, N.C., recently wrote an op-ed in The Daily Reflector calling the potential closure of Vidant Pungo Hospital "immoral."
In September, Greenville, N.C.-based Vidant Health said it will close the 25-bed Vidant Pungo Hospital by this spring and build a 24-hour multispecialty care clinic in its place. David Herman, MD, president and CEO of Vidant, said the critical access hospital is not financially sustainable, but the clinic will still provide vital care to the community.
In a FAQ section on Vidant's website, the system also said closing Vidant Pungo Hospital is necessary due to the facility's poor condition and the high operating costs. "We looked at a number of options and neither the community nor Vidant Health can afford to sustain the losses incurred by the hospital," according to the system's website.
However, Adam O'Neal, mayor of the town where Vidant Pungo Hospital is located, said the health system has "conducted business with the town in bad faith." Mr. O'Neal said Vidant did not appropriately discuss the decision to close the hospital. In addition, he wrote Vidant's decision is only in the best interest of the health system's bottom line. The closure would leave the community without an emergency room, meaning the generally poor populace will have to travel farther for emergency care.
"Do you really think that if Vidant Pungo was treating 20,000 wealthy patients instead of 20,000 mostly poor patients Vidant would be closing it?" Mr. O'Neal wrote.
However, the hospital's director's council released a statement, saying Vidant helped the hospital when it filed for bankruptcy in 2001. When the hospital agreed to a partnership arrangement, Vidant "could not guarantee a hospital; however, they would guarantee appropriate sustainable healthcare services for our community going forward."
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