SCOTT COUNTY, Tenn. — The only hospital in Scott County, Tenn. closed its emergency room to patients on Monday morning. A sign posted on the door to the emergency room read "ER CLOSED AT THIS TIME," adding hospital staff would help people call 911 if needed.
Hal Leftwich, the Big South Fork Medical Center CEO, said he didn't have physicians to work in the emergency room on Monday, so he closed it at midnight.
"We've got doctors that come up from Louisiana, who come in from Kentucky and all over the place," Leftwich said. "Right now one that I was having a hard time filling, this shift, because they were working at other places right now."
Leftwich said the emergency room was on diversion. The closest hospitals to Scott County were North Knoxville Medical Center, Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge, LaFollette Medical Center or Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital in Kentucky. All are at least 50 minutes from Oneida.
The hospital's CEO said the emergency room would reopen "as soon as one of the doctors can get in here."
Florida-based Rennova owns the hospital in Scott County. The group owned hospitals in Jamestown in Fentress County and Jellico in Campbell County.
Rennova "temporarily closed" the hospital in Jamestown in 2019. That hospital has remained closed. Rennova closed its hospital in Jellico in 2021.
Documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2023 said "the Company’s current financial condition may make it difficult to attract and maintain adequate expertise in its management team to successfully operate its healthcare facilities."
Leftwich maintains the emergency room will not permanently close and he has been regular with payments to doctors and staff.
Tennova, the owner of LaFollette Medical Center and North Knoxville Medical Center, also released a statement about the closure. The statement is available below.
"Thank you for reaching out to us. We have always had a strong relationship with Big South Fork Medical Center and work with them regularly to coordinate care for their patients who need a higher level of care. Over the past several days, our emergency rooms have seen a slight increase of patients from Scott County. Our Tennova Healthcare hospitals are ready and able to provide care for residents across the region.
In response to your question as to how we recruit and retain staff, we understand the challenges of operating rural hospitals as we have facilities in LaFollette, Newport, and Jefferson. Our priority is recruiting and retaining a strong team, and the diversity of locations across our network gives people options for their place of employment. We are fortunate to have centralized recruiting resources and offer benefits including student loan repayments for eligible employees, reimbursement of licensure and certification expenses, and matching 401K contributions. Tuition reimbursement is also available to create pathways for employees who want to work while in school to advance their career as a nurse or in other healthcare roles. We are also working to develop the workforce of the future to help address the nursing shortage. The hospital-based Jersey College Professional Nursing Program on our Turkey Creek campus gives students bedside experience while they are in school."