BLUEFIELD, WV (WOAY) – Bluefield Regional Medical Center is set to shut down all in-patient care services by July 30, 2020.
Bluefield Regional Medical Center was acquired by Princeton Community Hospital in October 2019. Now the Regional Medical Center is expected to close within the next 60 days.
According to Rose Morgan, the Vice President of Patient Care Services at Princeton Community Hospital, Bluefield Regional had numerous market factors that impacted their financial situation, swiftly followed by the pandemic, and they experienced significant financial losses.
“This is not what we set out to do, it’s not really what we want to be doing. But the financial picture has dictated that this is absolutely necessary,” Morgan said.
Bluefield Regional employs more than 100 medical professionals. Princeton is encouraging all who can to apply for one of the many positions they have open.
“We are hiring quite a few at the Bluefield Regional Medical Center, those that we are able to. We have a number of positions open and we encourage them to apply for jobs here. And many have, we’ve gotten quite a few applicants.”
And a hospital closing down in the middle of a global pandemic is certainly not an ideal scenario. However, Morgan believes Princeton is more than capable of taking on the extra patient load expected to come from Bluefield.
“I believe that we have all the resources we need and can hire additional nursing staff to round out the resources we have so that we can really meet the needs.”
Despite the difficulties with the closure of the medical center, Morgan thinks that the community is still capable of staying together and providing efficient care for people in the midst of this global crisis.
“I know that this change is very difficult for everyone involved. And I just hope that we can all come together as one community and provide the care that our patients need and deserve.”
Morgan also said that it’s possible for the emergency department there to remain open, so that way the city of Bluefield still gets quick access to medical care. But that possibility is not certain as of yet.
