Latest news with #MidCoastHealthSystem
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Texas legislature looks to help rural hospitals struggling to stay open
LA GRANGE, Texas (Nexstar) — Right on Highway 77, a few miles from downtown La Grange, sits a hospital that once provided emergency services and orthopedic surgery. Now, the St. Mark's Medical Center is an empty building with a sign on the front door that reads, 'Sorry, we're closed.' The hospital closed in October 2023 because of 'ongoing inability to meet its financial obligations,' according to a news release that announced the closure. St. Mark's was the only hospital in Fayette County. About a mile from the empty hospital is the building that houses Fayette County's EMS fleet and personnel. Josh Vandever, the EMS Chief for the county, said he and his team cover 960 square miles and respond to about 4,000 calls a year. Before St. Mark's closed, Vandever said his team would transport between 50% and 60% of their calls to the local hospital. Now, Vandever said he and his team are taking patients to emergency rooms in Smithsville and Columbus, both about 20 minutes away in either direction. But sometimes Vandever's team is making the hour-long trip to Austin for some patients. Vandever said the patient outcome has not suffered, but what has suffered is the wear-and-tear on his vehicles and the distance for families in the community. 'You can't just go down the street to check on mom or dad at the hospital. Now they have to drive to Columbus, Smithville, or even in to Austin,' Vandever explained. St. Mark's story is not unique. In the past 15 years, more than 20 rural Texas hospitals have closed because of financial issues. The most recent closure will happen this week after the Mid Coast Health System announced it is closing a hospital in Trinity. John Henderson, the President of the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals (TORCH) advocates for hospitals in vulnerable communities that need financial assistance. He said problems can be contributed to a combination factors, including a low patient volume and a high percentage of Medicaid and Medicare customers. 'Which is such a tough recipe for survival,' Henderson explained. Henderson said Medicaid does not pay the full cost of the services provided by the hospital, which leads to many hospitals operating with revenue shortfalls.. He said there are fewer commercially insured patients in rural areas. 'Rural hospitals are underwater when they treat Medicaid patients,' Henderson said. A new push at the Texas Capitol will infuse almost $50 million over the next two years into rural hospitals and provide new training opportunities for hospital administrators. House Bill 18, authored by State Rep. Gary VanDeaver (R – New Boston) would create the State Office of Rural Hospital Finance to assist rural hospitals gain financial stability. The bill would also require an assessment from rural hospitals that will help state officials determine which hospitals are most vulnerable and may need additional or immediate assistance. The bill received unanimous support from the House Committee on Public Health and is expected to be voted on by the full House floor on Wednesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trinity's only hospital announces closure citing financial problems
TRINITY, Texas (KETK) – The Mid Coast Health System has announced that Mid Coast Medical Center in Trinity will cease operations starting on April 25 following months of financial instability. 19 measles cases reported in Upshur County, here's what we know 'Despite our team's tireless work to restore services in Trinity, we are simply unable to continue operations under the current financial circumstances,' CEO of Mid Coast Health System, Brett Kirkham said. 'This is a deeply painful decision for all of us especially in consideration of the local commitment from the staff to serve patients in the Trinity community.' According to Trinity Memorial Hospital District board president Marjory Pulvino, Mid Coast Medical Center is Trinity County's only hospital. Pulvino said that once the hospital closes, the next nearest hospital will be in Huntsville, which is over 20 miles away in Walker County. According to a Friday press release from Mid Coast Health System, their Trinity center is facing the same problems that many rural hospitals are. Mid Coast cited delays in Medicare and Medicare billing, commercial insurance contract delays, lower than expected revenue from patient co-pays, increasing costs of supplies and insufficient local tax revenue as setbacks their hospital faced. Mid Coast Health System said the hospital had closed before in 2017 and they had hoped to receive the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) designation, which would secure additional funding for the hospital from the federal government. However, the hospital was reportedly not operational by the time the REH eligibility cutoff happened in Dec. 2020. 'We strongly believe that if Mid Coast Medical Center Trinity were eligible for REH status, it would thrive and continue to meet the community's emergency and outpatient healthcare needs,' Kirkham said. 'We are urging our elected officials to support a waiver that would allow the Trinity hospital to access this critical support for a potential reopening in the future.' Mid Coast encouraged the community to contact U.S. Senators for Texas John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, along with U.S. Representative Pete Sessions, in order to advocate for the hospital to get a waiver allowing them to qualify for the REH designation. 'This is a call to action for the Trinity community, our leader and our nation to recognize the unique challenges rural hospitals face and to fight for solutions that keep care close to home,' Kirkham concluded. Pulvino said the Trinity Memorial Hospital District Board of Directors was 'very disappointed' to learn about the closure but reassured the community that they're working to find a new hospital system to take over the hospital and emergency room. 'The board wants the community to know that the Board is working diligently to find a quality hospital system to take over the hospital and ER operations, and at this time is in discussion with a reputable hospital system,' Pulvino said. 'In addition we are in discussion with other groups to continue high quality services at the clinic. We agree that the Rural Emergency Hospital designation would be the ideal solution.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
