Chamber News

Ambulance Service from RJR Patrick County Hospital to Cease

R.J. Reynolds Patrick Community Hospital will stop providing ambulance service April 11, will not always have a physician immediately available in the emergency department and will make other changes in an effort to return the hospital to a “profitable,

Reported by the Martinsville Bulletin on Thursday, April 3, 2008 By DEBBIE HALL - Bulletin Staff Writer Under the changes, a physician will be in the emergency room from 8 p.m. Fridays until 8 a.m. Mondays, according to a release from Jonathan Large, chairman of the Patrick County Board of Supervisors, and Interim County Administrator Craig Teller. The rest of the time, the emergency room will operate with nurses and physician’s assistants, and a medical doctor will be on call as needed within 30 minutes, the release states. Also, there are plans to close the skilled care unit in the next 30 days, according to the release. Although many of the changes “are regrettable from the community’s perspective, the owners (PCH Operations, LLC, a for-profit limited liability corporation from Hickory, N.C.) have a right to make decisions they believe are necessary to stop further financial losses that threaten the hospital’s future,� the release states. It adds that the hospital is not closing. “In the near-term, the owners are taking steps to stabilize the hospital’s finances. For the long-term, the county is helping to facilitate cooperative discussions among the hospital owners and other interested parties that give rise to optimism that a plan can be developed that will ensure the continued, uninterrupted operation of R.J. Reynolds as a successful critical care access facility,� it adds. As the ambulance service — including advanced lifesaving services — ends, Patrick and its rescue squads “must now provide these services ... to ensure there is no gap in emergency medical services,� the release states. The hospital had provided free advanced lifesaving services to support and supplement the county’s volunteer squads, it adds. Following that announcement, the Western Virginia Emergency Medical Services Council Inc. directed Patrick EMS providers transporting a critical care patient to call the hospital first “to find out whether a physician is present.� If not, the directive indicated, EMS providers are to transport the patient to the “nearest appropriate facility� — either Memorial Hospital in Martinsville; Northern Hospital of Surry County in Mount Airy, N.C.; or Twin County Regional Hospital in Galax. Patrick officials also stated that a rural health clinic will help with the patient load by treating those with “urgent problems that are not life threatening,� according to the release. The hospital owners have filed a certificate of public need with officials at the Virginia Department of Health, requesting to transfer the skilled care unit beds to another facility. Chris Dourrer, director of licensure and certification with the department of health, said that request will be reviewed in early May, and a decision will follow. Patrick officials opposed that proposal, to sell the 25 skilled nursing home beds to Chatham Rehabilitation Center, because it essentially would close the skilled care facility. But phasing out the skilled care nursing unit is a “business decision� made by the hospital owners “to ensure the survival of the hospital itself,� the release states. A resolution adopted by the Patrick County Board of Supervisors in early March stated the “loss of this hospital, which has critical access status, would be nothing short of catastrophic for this small community.� Hospital owners can legally close the skilled care unit “whether or not the sale of the beds is eventually approved by the state,� the Patrick release stated. “The owners have pledged to work with patients to ensure a smooth and appropriate placement of patients in other facilities,� the release states, adding that Blue Ridge Nursing Home has been willing to help with that transition. County officials conceded Wednesday that while they can voice opinions and the county “has done so in a strong and firm manner, ultimately,� the county “has no control over these decisions� by the hospital owners.