From WRIL -
Mayor Scott Madon tells WRIL that there will be an emergency meeting of the Pineville City Council at 9am on Thursday Morning May 9, 2019.
This will be regarding the closure of the Southeastern Kentucky Medical Center - formerly Pineville Community Hospital - and discussion of the city to take over the management of the facility.
Employees have yet to be paid from the last pay period and were not expecting to be paid this week for the current pay period. Many employees have told us that they planned on walking out if they were not paid this week. Also in question has been the insurance coverage for employees.
State authorities have been visiting the facility as recently as yesterday in regard to the on going investigation into the operation of the hospital. It had been under control of what was known as Americore Health, LLC and CEO Grant White out of Florida. That corporation was discovered as being dissolved as a corporation recently.
During the time of operational management - under White's watch - vendors have gone unpaid, utilities have been continuously behind, Medicaid was dropped at one time, hundreds of thousands of occupational taxes have not been paid even though money was removed from the paychecks of employees, and employees are not paid consistently after working their shifts. Last year the city placed a lien on one of the properties held by the hospital - Total Care of Pineville.
Last year WRIL was sent notice by attorneys that the board of the hospital - Pineville Community Hospital Association, Inc. (PCHA) - filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy with the Eastern District Of Kentucky Bankruptcy Court on November 29, 2018.
White and his organization still operate a facility in Ellwood City Pennsylvania. That hospital has been experiencing similar issues as the Pineville Hospital with White continuously stating how much he has invested with little to show for it. Recently the Lee County Virginia Hospital board severed ties with White and his would be management style after many promises of opening the facility never came to light despite the county investing large amounts of money toward the endeavor.
We will be broadcasting this meeting LIVE on our station social media pages.