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Atmore Community Hospital Closing Surgery Department
April 4, 2024
Atmore Community Hospital is closing their surgery department effective June 1.
Officials pointed to low patient volumes, poor reimbursement rates including the lack of Medicaid expansion, and rapidly inflating costs as major reasons behind the closure.
“It is an unfortunate reality in today’s rural healthcare climate that hospitals are having to closely look at which services they are financially able to continue to provide. Atmore Community Hospital remains committed to providing our patients with quality healthcare and offering services locally. However, surgical services are not something we can continue offering and remain viable.” stated Brad Lowery, hospital administrator. “This decision was not made lightly, as we feel we have a very strong surgical team. Significant time and resources have gone in to trying to sustain the service, but we simply don’t have the necessary volume to support it at this time.”
According to hospital officials, Atmore Community Hospital is actively working to have outpatient surgical consults locally through visiting specialists, including D.W. McMillan Memorial Hospital. Along with this change in service, visiting specialists who were located in the ACH Specialty Care building will now be relocating to other areas of the hospital and clinics.
“We continue to review what is working from a financial perspective,” stated Debbie Rowell, Escambia County Health Care Authority board chairperson. “We cannot continue to offer services that decrease our financial feasibility. We continue to research impacts of Medicaid Expansion and better reimbursements options for rural healthcare facilities.”
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Comments
7 Responses to “Atmore Community Hospital Closing Surgery Department”
The OB delivery department closed Year’s ago. Now it’s only a matter of time before the hospital closes altogether. Sad.
Douglas, Free health care? I worked 60+ years of my life to ensure I have health care. Free, I’m confused?
It’s insane that we already don’t receive free healthcare. So even with everyone having to pay crazy high prices for healthcare, we can’t afford to have a surgery department in our lil small town hospital. Does this include heart caths and stints for heart attack patients? That transfer time from Atmore to Bay Minette or Pensacola or Mobile…that could be the difference in life or death. Maybe I’m wrong on this because I honestly know nothing, but that’s absolutely crazy if it’s the case.
So, all the anti-Medicare expansion advocates in Tallahassee and Montgomery are seeing the fruits of their political stunts: closure of vital rural medical services in one of the poorest areas of this country.
Sometimes you get what you wish for.
In regard to “Big Picture”
That is inaccurate. In recent years, the clinical staff have actually seen continual improvements in quality of care as evidenced by CMS’s Care Compare website, despite the challenges that face rural hospitals in a post-COVID world. These ratings are objective quality scores and are some of the highest in lower Alabama for the areas that apply. The staff at Atmore are extremely engaged in delivering quality healthcare in a safe way, in part because they recognize the community they care for is made of up their own family and friends. No hospital or healthcare facility is immune from error, but ACH is delivering quality healthcare locally and saving lives everyday.
Also, healthcare is one of the most litigated industries in the country, which is part of the reason healthcare costs continue to rise in the USA. Don’t take my word for it – research healthcare tort law / reform and form your own opinion.
big picture- I will say from our personal experiences that since Mr. Lowery has been at the helm we have had nothing but excellent experiences at the Atmore hospital so we don’t subscribe to the “diminished care over the last few years”. Although, we agree past administrations there have been questionable as to patient care. Been on that side also. Rural care as stated has many challenges that bigger cities don’t have but still glad we have a hospital to go to if needed.
Sadly the quality of care has greatly diminished there over the last few years according to many people. It is disappointing and heartbreaking at the same time that some patients there appear To receive better care than others and contrary to what many believe the medical industrial complex is nearly immune to lawsuit in this country in most instances.