Mizell Memorial Hospital in Opp, Ala., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to stabilize its finances while continuing operations.
Four things to know:
1. The hospital filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Alabama. Mizell Memorial’s main goal is to preserve critical services in the community, according to an April 29 news release.
2. Mizell Memorial said all hospital and clinic locations and services will remain open at current capacity. Employees, nurses, medical support staff and physicians will continue to be paid, and patients will be seen as scheduled.
“We assure you that filing for Chapter 11 provides a structure to address specific financial challenges while continuing our daily operations,” CEO Deborah Franklin, BSN, said in the release. “… Your hospital will stay open.”
3. Mizell Memorial said it is not alone in facing economic pressures affecting rural hospitals nationwide, including reimbursement shortfalls, rising workforce, pharmacy and supply costs, as well as mounting regulatory and administrative burdens.
4. The hospital joins seven other hospitals that have filed for protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in 2026. Most recently, Fitzgibbon Hospital in Marshall, Mo., and Greenwood (Miss.) Leflore Hospital filed for Chapter 11 and Chapter 9 protection, respectively, in April as they continue to seek potential buyers.
Mizell Memorial is an acute care hospital that operates a five-bed intensive care unit, an emergency department, a community infusion center, swing bed rehabilitation services, an older adult behavioral care unit and clinics in Opp and Elba, Ala. It employs more than 200 people.
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