Clinton Hospital Reopening After Almost A Year Since Shut Down

After shutting down for just shy of a year, Clinton Regional Hospital is seeing patients again.

Alliance Health left Clinton earlier this year..since then the hospital had to reapply for a license. Now they’re opening without a third party.

Things are coming together at Clinton Regional Hospital. Len Lacefield with the hospital said the emergency room is open along with radiology and a few other services. “Opening day was a really big day because a lot of people thought is it going to happen. And it happened,” Lacefield said.

But, the hospital is still working to be certified with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “We will have to see 20 patients to be admitted to the hospital and then released to the hospital and then two patients in the hospital when CMS sends out their survey,” Lacefield said.

Until certification, the hospital is picking up the bill and patients are being seen for free. “We’ll probably receive that in some time in late December, hopefully, a good Christmas gift,” Lacefield said.

Lacefield calls this a review period, but Jessica Simmons said the town still needs more urgent care options. “In this community, this entire area we've got just maybe three, four primary care providers in a town of ten thousand people and most of them aren't taking new patients,” Simmons said.

People can go to the hospital's emergency room, but that space is meant for immediate care. “They may have a small laceration that we can repair, they may have a minor fracture that we can send for an X-Ray,” Simmons said.

Now that we're in flu season she's expecting more calls from people wanting to make an appointment or do walk-ins. “We are expecting to be busier,” Simmons said.

Clinton Regional Hospital says it's open 24/7. As for Simmon's office, she says if the demand is there- they'll consider hiring more staff or extending hours.

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