Hutcheson Medical CenterHutcheson Medical Center officials met behind closed doors Monday afternoon to discuss -- but didn't decide -- which health care organization will manage the financially troubled Fort Oglethorpe hospital.
Earlier this year, Hutcheson put out a request for proposals to manage the publicly owned hospital, and it received more than one response, said officials, who declined to state who responded or how many bids came in.
Hospital officials are in discussion with a "leading respondent," according to a news release issued Monday afternoon. It stated Hutcheson's board of directors has a goal of making a decision "in the very near future."
"Balancing the hospital's needs with those of the counties we serve and a potential health care business partner requires tremendous consideration, and is a task the boards of directors take very seriously," Corky Jewell, chairman of the HMC board of directors, said in the release. "We are working with the leading respondent and the counties to identify a solution."