In July, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Walker County must pay $8.7 million in owed debt to Erlanger. The debt stems back to 2011, when Erlanger loaned $20 million to Walker County, the governing body of Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.-based Hutcheson Medical Center. At the time of the loan, which was part of Erlanger’s agreement to run day-to-day operations at the Georgia hospital, Hutcheson was struggling financially. Hutcheson eventually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2014.
Both sides have been in negotiations regarding the debt. However, Shannon Whitfield, the county’s commissioner, told Walker County Messenger Erlanger contacted him Aug. 30 and called off negotiations. Mr. Whitfield added Erlanger is set to take the commissioner to federal court over $180,000 it alleges the county owes the system in attorney fees and interest and penalties.
Erlanger did not immediately respond to Becker’s Hospital Review request for comment. This article will be updated if information becomes available.
Kelly Gooch contributed to this article.
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