JELLICO, Tenn. — In February, the Jellico City Council voted to order Rennova Health to leave the Jellico Medical Center. They said the site was not operating as a general acute care hospital and often did not have adequate staff to provide care, violating the terms of its contract with the city.
It was the only hospital in Jellico at the time. However, officials said they had not admitted a patient since late November 2020.
Now, city leaders said the hospital is on track to re-open in spring 2022. Dwight Osbourn, the Mayor of Jellico, said that the city-owned facility should be open sometime between mid-April and mid-May.
In the meantime, he said the building needs several repairs. They received a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to help pay for new boilers, and leaders accepted a bid from a company to perform the work.
Before it can reopen, it needs to pass inspections from the Tennessee Department of Health and the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services.
It will be operated by Boa Vida Healthcare, according to Osbourn, and the facility will be called the "Jellico Regional Hospital."
According to their website, Boa Vida Healthcare also operates medical facilities in Mississippi and Oklahoma and said they focus on helping struggling hospitals while engaging all stakeholders in a community, including leaders and patients.
Part of the way they do this is by "capturing market share from adjacent communities coupled with more efficient operations," according to their website.
Boa Vida Healthcare also offers information-technology services, revenue management services, and hospital management services, according to their website.