PDF: Grandview CEO Statement
Sequatchie County officials are working to ensure that residents still will be covered after the county’s only emergency department becomes an urgent care clinic at the end of August.
“Our community can’t go on without a 24-hour ER,” County Executive Michael Hudson said Thursday. “We are working around the clock to replace that ER care that we’re losing. … We have roughly six weeks to get someone in there.”
County leaders met this week with Erlanger hospital officials about possibly taking over the lease for the North Valley Medical Plaza in Dunlap, Tenn., and continuing emergency services there.
The plaza is a stand-alone emergency department with some outpatient services and an air medical helipad. It is operated by Grandview Medical Center in Jasper, which leases the building from Sequatchie County.
If it closes, the nearest emergency department for Sequatchie County residents would be at Grandview or at Erlanger Bledsoe in Pikeville.
Erlanger President and CEO Jim Brexler said the hospital is “interested” in the possibility of handling ER services at North Valley and some Erlanger staff members have visited the facility, at the invitation of Sequatchie County officials. But he said it is too early to make a decision.
“We’re interested in trying to help the local community in whatever way we can, but there’s a lot of work and due diligence that would need to be done,” he said.
Sequatchie County residents and leaders said they were blindsided by the announcement this week that the county could lose its only emergency department.
North Valley Medical Plaza is on track to lose nearly $1 million in 2010, making the ER’s operation unsustainable, according to a statement from Grandview CEO Bruce Baldwin. The 70-bed hospital is owned by Capella Healthcare.
“We want to keep providing great health care to Dunlap and Sequatchie County residents. However, the current financial situation cannot continue. North Valley is still a business and must live within its means,” he said in the statement.
Grandview officials said they would covert the building to an extended-hours urgent care clinic.
PLANNED URGENT CARE CLINICEffective Sept. 1, Grandview Medical Center officials plan to convert North Valley Medical Plaza’s emergency room space into an urgent care medical clinic. Hours would be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
“It kind of hit us like a ton of bricks,” said Winston Pickett, executive director of the Sequatchie County-Dunlap Chamber of Commerce. A loss of emergency care “is a void that needs to be filled, and I feel like that it will be.”
Grandview executives who could discuss the possibility of a lease-swap were not available for comment Thursday afternoon, spokesman Jamie Lawson said. A physician’s office in the building is not affiliated with Grandview and not affected by the change, he said.
Hospital officials hope to minimize job losses among the ER’s 20 or so employees, if the ER conversion goes through, Mr. Lawson said.
“We’re still working very hard to make sure as few employees are affected” as possible, potentially transferring some staff to the main Grandview campus, he said.
Mr. Hudson said he hopes all the employees will be kept on if a new hospital takes over Grandview’s lease.