From the Lee Daily Register
Lee County Hospital Authority announced Monday night January 14, 2019 that they have ratified a recommendation to the Lee County Board of Supervisors that separates the Authority from Americore Health.
The Authority also announced it will pursue a relationship with Tri-Cities based Ballad Health to reopen the hospital. No details on a timeline were given.
One of the terms of Wellmont and Mountain States Health Alliance’s merger into Ballad Health Systems early last year was to offer at least emergency medical services to Lee County. The Authority did not rule out pursuing additional services in upcoming negotiations with Ballad.
Commissioner Howard Elliott also reported that the Authority’s recommendation included provisions to reclaim the hospital building from Americore.
We asked Authority attorney Jeff Mitchell for details on the terms of the recommendation, including whether or not the County would be refunding the $500k down payment Americore made as part of a $2M deal to purchase the hospital in Dec 2017. Mr Mitchell said that those details would have to remain confidential for now.
The Lee County Board of Supervisors meets Tuesday night at 6pm in the General District Courtroom inside Lee County courthouse on Main Street in Jonesville. The Supervisors will consider this recommendation at tomorrow night’s meeting.