This means the hospital will not default on a loan it owes SunTrust Banks and will remain open, according to a report from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
When the hospital first asked for the county’s help, the commission voted down the bond, worried that taxpayers would have to pay the hospital’s debt. The commission elected to back the bond after the hospital presented a new proposal pledging that the organization would place $12 million in special reserve accounts, according to the report.
Under the new proposal, the hospital has also agreed to allow the commission to appoint two members to serve on the hospital’s board of directors.
Still, even with this bailout, Southern Regional is struggling financially. Although 74,212 patients came to Southern Regional’s ER last year, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution report, the hospital lost $7 million in 2008.
Read the press release on the Southern Regional and Clayton County agreement.
Read the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s report on Southern Regional Health System’s bailout.
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