The county parted ways with Americore after the system failed to meet multiple deadlines to reopen the hospital, which it took control of in 2015, two years after it had closed.
Officials are now speaking with Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health about taking control of the hospital. Ballad is a part of the last organization to operate Lee County hospital, Wellmont Health System, which merged with Mountain States Health Alliance in 2018 to become Ballad Health.
Ballad Health has a cooperative agreement with the county to provide essential health services if another company didn’t open an acute care facility by 2018.
“I would like to make a motion that we empower the special committee to work with Ballad to fulfill their commitments under the cooperative agreement and to discuss other matters,” said Howard Elliott, commissioner of the Lee County Hospital Authority.
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