[Walker County Commissioner Bebe Heiskell] is thrilled that Hutcheson Medical Center will be reopened. Since Walker County asked me to represent it in this matter, I have worked closely with [County Attorney] Don Oliver and Commissioner Heiskell, and we have shared a common goal to get this hospital to remain open or to be reopened so that it can provide muchneeded health care to the residents of Walker County and North Georgia.
The plywood has been pulled down and patients are now being accepted. Hutcheson Medical Center is back in business.
The hospital opened its doors to patients again last Tuesday, when the emergency department, radiology department and lab relaunched at 4 p.m.
“We are excited to be part of the Fort Oglethorpe community and to work toward providing the best in patient care and service delivery,” Dr. Mike Dolister, CEO of ApolloMD, said in a statement. ApolloMD is a physicians group based in Atlanta that staffs more than 100 hospitals across the country – including Hutcheson.
Earlier this month, hospital leaders feared Hutcheson was doomed to close forever, with $82 million of debt and no white knight on the horizon. During a Dec. 11 bankruptcy court hearing, however, ApolloMD offered to buy Hutcheson for $4.2 million. The company has been in charge of Hutcheson’s emergency department since June.