Mercy Health Systems will take over Parkview on July 1. The hospital will be renamed Mercy Hospital El Reno.
Parkview became the center of controversy in 2008 when, after two years of financial losses, the El Reno City Council got a temporary restraining order to keep the hospital’s board from entering a long-term contract with a management company, according to another report by KSBI. The restraining order led to the resignation of five board members after a county judge ruled that the city council was allowed to remove them if it so wished. The city council held an emergency meeting at which it unanimously voted to add three new board members and name Mayor Matt White the new chairman.
In Dec. 2008, KSBI reported that El Reno citizens, concerned that Mayor White would use his position to stack the hospital board with city council members so that it could be sold, began a petition to recall him. The initiative was not successful.
