Nashville (Tenn.) Mayor Megan Barry is delaying decisions on the fate of Nashville General Hospital, a city-owned safety-net hospital, until the end of 2018, according to The Tennessean.
In November, Ms. Barry announced Nashville General Hospital would end inpatient services and transition to an ambulatory surgical care center. She initially proposed ceasing inpatient services at the hospital by June 2018.
However, Ms. Barry decided to revisit the issue after stakeholders criticized her plan.
"My announcement in November 2017 was meant to be positive and a starting point for a broader stakeholder conversation about the future of indigent care in Nashville," Ms. Barry wrote in a letter to the Metro Council, the legislative authority of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville. "Obviously this has not occurred as intended and I'm sorry I didn't engage you and other stakeholders before the announcement was made."
She proposed a "reset" on the process, which pleased Metro Councilwoman Tanaka Vercher, who has been a critic of the mayor's original plan and timeline for changes at Nashville General.
"I am in full support of a 'reset' of the process to determine the future of our public safety net hospital," she said, according to the report. "It is critical that the process is transparent and thorough."
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