Taylor Regional Hospital in Hawkinsville, Ga., was unable to pay their employees in early May after a clerical error was made at the USDA’s office, according to Jonathon Green, CEO of Taylor Health Care Group.
The issue stemmed from a $250,000 withdrawal from the hospital’s bank account, leaving it without sufficient funds to pay staff, CBS affiliate WMAZ reported May 13. The hospital was mistakenly placed on the Treasury Offset Program list — a system that collects past-due debts — which enabled the agency to withdraw the funds, Mr. Green said in a statement shared with Becker’s on May 21.
Although the hospital has a USDA loan, the withdrawal was unrelated to that account and outside its current agreement with the department, he said.
“It was immediately addressed and the USDA office confirmed this was in error,” Mr. Green said. “They assured us that they would expedite the refund to us. We followed up multiple times and eventually had to involve U.S. and state senators to make a congressional demand for the return of our funds.”
Hospital employees were paid through a “temporary fix” before the refund was received on May 16. Mr. Green said the organization has taken steps to reserve additional payroll to avoid the issue in the future.
A USDA spokesperson told Becker’s on May 14 that the department was aware of the issue and is working with the hospital to “get the issue resolved as quickly as possible.”
“We do appreciate the attention from the USDA and our representatives resolving this error,” Mr. Green said.
