A court-appointed ombudsman for Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.-based Hutcheson Medical Center's chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed a report Monday that said the hospital's lack of funds can or soon will adversely affect patients, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
The investigator, Susan Goodman, said layoffs, service line closures, staffing concerns at the nursing home and the status of pulmonology and emergency department support were at issue for the medical center, according to the report.
Hutcheson Medical Center filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy last November in the hopes of restructuring debt to stabilize the organization and ensure long-term viability. According to the report, the hospital laid off 128 employees, closed the ICU, outpatient services, main hospital operative services and two clinics. The hospital's CMO also resigned, according to the report.
The employees who remain at Hutcheson work four days a week and some have found their health insurance inactive, according to the report.
Hutcheson CEO Farrell Hayes told the Chattanooga Times Free Press, "As long as I'm breathing, I'll fight anyone for Hutcheson," according to the report. "Hutcheson is needed."
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