Hospital in rural Tennessee to close; company says state's lack of Medicaid expansion is a factor

Jackson Sun photo by David Thomas

Another rural hospital is closing in a Republican-led state that chose not to expand Medicaid under federal health reform. Haywood Park Community Hospital in Brownsville, Tenn., will end inpatient and emergency services on July 31, Tom Wilemon reports for The Tennessean. The 62-bed hospital will be turned into an urgent-care clinic that will treat minor illnesses and non-life-threatening injuries.

Larry Cash, chief financial officer of Tennessee-based Community Health Systems, which operates or leases 208 hospitals in 29 states, "said Tennessee’s failure to expand its Medicaid program was a contributing factor for the decision," Wilemon writes. Cash told him, “It is a situation where we will continue certain services there but inpatient services can be done at our hospital there in Jackson better.” Jackson is about 31 miles from Brownsville.

The hospital has seen a continual decline in patients, from 1,300 in 2009 to less than 250 in 2013, David Thomas reports for the Jackson Sun. Joel Southern, Haywood Park Community Hospital’s chief executive officer, said in a statement: "These are challenging times for all hospitals and we must evolve and adjust to new realities. Maintaining a full-service hospital for the current inpatient demand from acute and emergency patients is not sustainable.” (Read more)

It's no surprise that the hospital is closing, Wilemon writes. "The Tennessee Hospital Association warned that rural hospitals would close if Tennessee did not expand its Medicaid program." Craig Becker, president of the association, told The Tennessean in December, “The vast majority of our hospitals that are financially distressed right now are in our rural areas.” Four rural hospitals have already closed in Georgia, which also did not expand Medicaid. (Read more)