De Queen Medical Center closing continues with proper protocols. Plans for new hospital moving forward.
Closing hospitals is never something communities should have to go through but citizens in Sevier County are dealing with that issue these days. According to Sevier Count Rural Development Authority Chair Dr. Steve Cole, people generally do not know what all is necessary to close a hospital properly, “Since we started down the road of voluntarily suspending the local hospital license, the city, county , and our receiver Rachel Matheson have all been extra busy closing the hospital following protocols set forth by the Arkansas Department of Health”. When hospitals close, it is much more than just locking the door and walking away. Many people have to keep working to ensure that many things are taken care of properly. These things include proper disposal of medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, CO2 and Oxygen tanks, and proper storage of all medical records. Hospital receiver Rachel Matheson, who is running point on these efforts explains that it is something new each day, “While we are all working on taking care of closing the hospital we have surprises that pop up every day, including a rash of break-ins by unauthorized personnel. It is certainly a challenge, but it is one that is worth our time, because ultimately we want to build a new hospital and the first step in that is closing this one properly and protecting the local hospital license, which we have taken great pains to do”. According the Sevier County Judge Greg Ray, the county, the RDA, and our local receiver have been moving forward quickly towards the possibility of a new hospital, “We have never stopped working on this issue. Every single day, there are several of us working with our legal team to insure that the path we are on will get us to a brand new facility for Sevier County. We also will be counting on our local health providers and our community to help us decide what our new hospital should look like and what services should be offered. We will trust our legal team to direct us in all matters of licensing and the organization of the hospital”. Dr. Cole added that a feasibility study should be published soon, “Under the direction of the Friday Firm, the County Judge and I engaged a professional CPA that specializes in feasibility studies for new hospital projects. We engaged this person several months ago and should have the study completed soon. This will tell us how much the new hospital will cost to build and maintain, and moving forward, that will provide us with transparency as we ask the citizens of Sevier County to support these efforts”.