The decision forces Cooper Green to stop admitting inpatients, and the emergency room must be closed by Dec. 1. Sandral Hullett, MD, CEO of the county-owned Cooper Green, called the vote “devastating” and said she did not know where the city’s indigent patients would go for care, according to the report.
Supporters of the 40-year-old hospital have been protesting the potential closure of inpatient services for weeks and previously delayed a decision on the hospital’s future.
Jefferson County also asked the judge overseeing its bankruptcy filing to halt a related lawsuit from the city of Birmingham, according to a separate Birmingham News report. Birmingham sued the county to keep inpatient services open at Cooper Green. Currently, Jefferson County has more than $4.2 billion in debt, and it was the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.
More Articles on Cooper Green Mercy Hospital:
Protestors Spur Delay in Decision of Cooper Green Mercy Hospital’s Future
Supporters to Protest Cooper Green Mercy Hospital’s Oncology Unit Closure
