Texas hospital to close, lay off 900 employees and file for bankruptcy

Webster, Texas-based Bay Area Regional Medical Center announced its closure May 10 and revealed plans to file for bankruptcy this week.

"It is with a heavy heart that I announce that Bay Area Regional will close its doors on May 10, 2018," Stephen K. Jones Jr., CEO of Bay Area Regional, said in a statement May 4. "We want to thank our staff who worked tirelessly, physicians who chose to practice medicine and patients who received care at our hospital."

The 191-bed hospital, which opened July 21, 2014, said in a statement it had invested $200 million into the facility during the past five years and will continue to work with lenders on an orderly closing process, including the fulfillment of its payroll obligations.

In an emailed statement to the Houston Chronicle, Mr. Jones said the hospital "was not able to overcome significant hurdles with managed-care companies." He also noted an estimated 900 employees will lose their jobs as a result of the closure, according to the report.

"Local hospitals will be notified so that they can help facilitate the transfer of our patients to their facilities," Mr. Jones said in the emailed statement. "Local EMS will be deploying resources to help move patients, and doctors will be rounding to discharge patients who can safely go home or to a lower level of care."

Houston-based HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division, part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, will host a job fair May 7 for employees affected by Bay Area Regional's closure, according to KHou11.

Editor's note: Becker's Hospital Review reached out to Bay Area Regional Medical Center for comment and will update the report as more information becomes available.

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