![]() The Haskell hospital is one of many Oklahoma rural medical centers trying to remain open under financial conditions that can feel insurmountable and suffocating for the communities trying to save them. The sun sets over Main Street in Stigler on Monday. The closest hospital is now an hour away, a distance that could be life-threatening for residents experiencing a stroke or a heart attack. Hospital closures in the nearby towns of Eufaula and Wilburton in the past four years have made access to health care more urgent in Stigler, a community of about 2,700 people. “We are very hopeful that we will be able to close on the deal, but we’re not there yet.” He asked for more time to gather the needed money. “Our expected source of operating capital has obviously gotten very concerned because of the events that have been going on,” Janvier said. The company had enough money to buy the hospital but couldn’t afford to operate it, Janvier said. William Janvier, an attorney for the company, told a bankruptcy court at a March hearing that the coronavirus’ damage to the economy upended the proposed investment. In January, Haskell Regional Hospital Inc., a company controlled by a spine surgeon from Indiana, submitted the sole bid of $200,000 at a bankruptcy auction to purchase the hospital. She’s been praying for a new owner to take over and “help bring us back to life.”īut the future of the 25-bed hospital, which has been whittled down to operating only an emergency room during the bankruptcy, is increasingly grim. “We know we can’t do this forever,” Randall said in an interview. The facility barely has enough employees to comply with state and federal laws, which require the emergency room to be staffed with at least two nurses and an on-call physician. In October, about 85% of the staff was laid off to save money and entice buyers at a bankruptcy auction.įor the past several months, the hospital’s remaining employees have performed housekeeping duties and avoided taking time off when they’ve been sick. The CDC has more information on what to do if you are sick.īefore the Haskell County hospital entered bankruptcy in 2019, many employees went weeks without pay. Note: If you develop emergency warning signs for COVID-19, such as difficulty breathing or bluish lips, get medical attention immediately. Help Us Continue Reporting on COVID-19Īre you a public health worker or front-line medical provider? Do you work for or with a government agency involved in the effort to protect the public? Have you or your family personally been affected? Show us what we should be covering or serve as an expert to make sure we’re on track. None, she said, have been as difficult as the past two years.Īnd now, the novel coronavirus is threatening to scuttle a sale that would help the bankrupt hospital escape closure. The nurses, along with an office manager and a part-time maintenance worker, are the only remaining employees at the Haskell County Community Hospital, which two years ago had a staff of 68 and provided some of the highest-paying jobs in the southeastern Oklahoma town.Īndrea Randall, a nurse who also serves as the hospital’s interim administrator, has watched it claw through years of financial turmoil in the decade since she started working. They stabilize patients with life-threatening conditions, mop floors and scrub toilets. This article was produced in partnership with The Frontier, which is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network.Įight nurses at the lone hospital in the rural Oklahoma town of Stigler now double as the cleaning crew.
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