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New Hope: Decatur County Hospital May Be Brought Back to Life

A proposal has been made to the Decatur County Commission on the re-opening of the Decatur County Hospital from the Lexington Hospital Corporation/Ambulance Service of Lexington (owned by BradenHealth).
Photo Submitted / The Lexington Progress

Article by Burton Scott Staggs-

About a year ago, I watched Decatur County General Hospital die. I watched as Mayor Mike Creasy locked the doors, for what we thought was the last time.

The Decatur County Commission will be presented a proposal to see the hospital reopen and the county to save approximately a half million dollars a year.

I’m going to give you the details and hope that I do a good job explaining it.

A proposal from Lexington Hospital Corporation/Ambulance Service of Lexington (owned by BradenHealth) has been made. Here are some of the points that are proposed:

1. A nine year lease on the hospital and the Decatur County Ambulance Service
2. A $2 million investment in the hospital and EMS service.
3. 30 new jobs with a payscale equal to Lexington Hospital and EMS
4. A minimum of 2 ambulances on duty.
5. 24/7/365 coverage at the hospital and emergency room with a doctor or nurse practitioner.
6. Best efforts to open clinics near the hospital
7. Triple net lease (Lexington Hospital pays all bills and taxes going forward)
8. Best efforts to open the hospital by 1/1/22

The rest is a lot of legal mumbo jumbo. Here is the short version of what will be presented to the Decatur County Commission. Currently the hospital is empty and has been heavily damaged by flooding inside. The walls, ceiling, computer cables and even the tile flooring looks to need replacing.

Lexington Hospital will restore the hospital to make it useful. There is some insurance money that will help in those repairs. BradenHealth is the parent company that owns or operates hospitals in Lexington, Brownsville, Haywood County and…

For complete coverage, see the May 5th edition of The Lexington Progress.

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