You think Peach County has hospital troubles — be glad you’re not in Telfair County. According to a report on WMAZ.com, the board of Telfair Regional Hospital put off a decision on closing the financially troubled hospital in order to spend the weekend working out their options. The emergency meeting today followed last night’s 3-2 decision by county commissioners not to buy the hospital.
If the Telfair facility closes, the nearest hospital is about 20 minutes away. That could be a fatal distance for critically injured people. WMAZ reported:
Hospital Administrator Hartley says, “The number one concern is that there’s going to be people that’s going to die. You’re limited to what can be done in an ambulance. I’m sorry but it’s limited to what can be done on an ambulance. Lives have to be saved in minutes.”
Peach County could face a similar situation, and outlying counties without their own hospitals would be in even worse shape. As previously reported, Peach Regional Medical Center‘s consultants, Dixon Hughes, suggested PRMC could go bankrupt within four years at its current location.
The reasons for the troubles at Telfair’s and Peach’s hospitals are the same: Medicare and Medicaid squeezing on payments, indigent clients who pay little or nothing, insurance companies putting on their own squeeze, underinsured or uninsured patients, uneven support from local government.
PRMC is in the midst of a feasibility study, which will tell potential lender BB&T Bank whether the hospital will be able to repay a $25 million loan at its planned new location. If that study returns a satisfactory result, all systems are pretty much go for the new building at 247 Connector and John E. Sullivan Road.
If the results aren’t good, then what? Well, Peach County could be in the same situation as Telfair County is today. But let’s hope the feasibility study confirms what PRMC’s management has been claiming for the past year or so: the new location will attract more specialists, who will admit more paying patients; the location will attract patients from Houston County, hopefully with insurance; it will be close to the current and projected growth in East Peach; the new facility with all new equipment will attract more patients overall; plus all the current doctors will still be around, with their offices in the same locations. All current patients will still be able to get the same high-quality service, a few minutes further away for some, but closer for others.
Sounds like a good deal. Now that doesn’t guaranteePRMC will flourish at the new spot, but we know they’re not prospering where they are.
Could the consultants be wrong about bankruptcy in four years? Maybe, but do we want to bet on a future that could resemble the present in Telfair County?
Out of my Mind Blog - Peach County Edition 