West Virginia hit with string of hospital closures

Anorthern West Virginia medical center is shutting down, the latest in a string of hospital closings in the state. Fairmont (W.Va.) Regional Medical Center CEO Bob Adcock notified more than 600 employees in a letter that the 207-bed hospital will close.

“Our plans to reorganize some administrative functions and develop other revenue sources were insufficient to stop the financial losses at FRMC,” according to the letter. “Our efforts to find a buyer or new source of financing were also unsuccessful.”

Fairmont Regional is owned by California-based Alecto Healthcare Services, which closed hospitals last year in Wheeling, W.Va., and Martins Ferry, Ohio.

Fairmont Regional laid off 25 employees in September because of a reduction in patients and revenue.

“There have been people here for over 40 years,” said Fairmont Regional housekeeping employee Chuck Hawkins, who was born at the hospital.

Last month Pleasant Valley Hospital in Point Pleasant, W.Va., announced it was cutting 53 full-time jobs and ending obstetrics services.

Williamson (W.Va.) Memorial Hospital filed for bankruptcy in October, and Thomas Health System, a notfor-profit that operates hospitals in Charleston and South Charleston, W.Va., plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection but vows to keep hospitals open.

Officials at Bon Secours Health System also recently announced that a hospital in Ashland, Ky., would shut down later this year.

The West Virginia closings and layoffs prompted Gov. Jim Justice to form a task force to find strategies to help hospitals stay open. ●