Becker's Hospital Review

10 CFO / FINANCE Ballad aims to reopen Virginia facility as a critical access hospital By Alia Paavola J ohnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health has filed an appli- cation to reopen Lee County Community Hospital with a critical access hospital designation. The Pennington Gap, Va.-based community hospital closed in 2013. The Lee County Hospital Authority voted in January to partner with Ballad Health to reopen the hospital. Ballad Health is seeking the critical access designation to help reduce the financial vulnerability of the rural hospital. If the application is approved, the designation would allow the hospital to be reimbursed by CMS at a higher rate. To qualify, the hospital must be at least 35 miles from the nearest facility or 15 miles, if in a mountainous area like Lee County. "Ballad Health is committed to reopening Lee County Commu- nity Hospital and bringing healthcare services back to this com- munity, and filing our application brings us one step closer," said Monty McLaurin, vice president for Ballad Health. n Billionaire donates another $500K to defend Idahoans from medical debt collection agency By Kelly Gooch A n Idaho businessman is ramping up his fight against an agency that collects medical debt, according to the Idaho Statesman. Frank VanderSloot, and his wife, Belinda, announced Oct. 8 they would donate another $500,000 to defend eastern Idaho- ans from Idaho Falls, Idaho-based Medical Recovery Services, which has ties to state Rep. Bryan Zollinger, an Idaho Falls Re- publican, and Idaho Falls attorney Bryan Smith, the newspaper reported. That doubles the couple's original $500,000 dona- tion to fight MRS through a legal defense fund Mr. VanderSloot created called Idaho Medical Debt. The Statesman reported that Idaho Medical Debt aims to en- sure full reimbursement to physicians and hospitals so that pa- tients aren't on the hook for unreasonable fees associated with debt collectors. Mr. VanderSloot, founder and CEO of Mela- leuca, a wellness retail company, said most of the fund will be used to defend patients, but money will also help fund lawsuits against MRS. n Florida hospital abruptly closes, lays off 300 By Ayla Ellison T he Jerome Golden Center for Behavioral Health, a 44-bed psychiatric hospital in West Palm Beach, Fla., abruptly closed Oct. 18, leaving more than 300 employees without jobs, according to The Palm Beach Post. The nonprofit hospital, which served low-income and uninsured patients, transferred patients to other orga- nizations after it filed for bankruptcy protection Sept. 24. Officials claimed to have a for-profit buyer for the hospital in early October and filed to dismiss the bank- ruptcy. However, the deal reportedly fell through Oct. 17, and the hospital closed the next day. Two former employees of the Jerome Golden Center for Behavioral Health sued the hospital Oct. 20. Their lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status, alleges the hospital violated a federal labor law requiring employ- ers to give workers 60 days' notice before large layoffs, according to The Palm Beach Post. n Catholic Health offers buyouts to employees amid declining revenue By Kelly Gooch B uffalo, N.Y.-based Catholic Health has offered buyouts to some of its nonclinical employees amid cost-cutting attempts and declining reve- nue, according to The Buffalo News. The buyouts are "part of a series of measures, [such as investing in medical records technology], designed to right-size the organization and improve operational efficiencies without compromising patient care," the health system told the newspaper. The health system said a "small number" of nonclini- cal employees were offered buyouts but declined to be more specific. The system also would not tell The Buffalo News whether layoffs are possible if enough employees don't accept the offers. The buyouts are just one of the steps the health sys- tem is taking amid declining reimbursements. In late September, Catholic Health announced a hiring freeze after posting an operating deficit of $16 million. n

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