Worries arise on Arkansas hospital closing; facility late with payroll

Months of late paychecks and a round of layoffs two weeks before Christmas have stoked fears that a hospital in De Queen will close, former employees and officials said.

Paychecks expected Dec. 14 weren't distributed until Friday in the most recent sign of distress at De Queen Medical Center, which is the only hospital in Sevier County. On Wednesday, elected officials, business and community leaders, and emergency responders met to discuss contingency plans in case the hospital closes.

"Everybody in town is concerned about it, and there is a lot of talk about it," De Queen Mayor Billy Ray McKelvy said in a phone interview. "Access to health care is a big concern, but of course people have jobs there. ... [If it closed], it'd be terrible."

The hospital's parent company, Missouri-based EmpowerHMS, recently has been late in meeting obligations, including payrolls, rents and utility bills at facilities it owns in Tennessee, Kansas and Oklahoma, according to a range of local-level news reports.

Read more: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/dec/23/worries-arise-on-hospital-closing-20181/?news-arkansas