Rural community decides if it should trust outside investor with bankrupt hospital
Independent hospitals can survive, but they face myriad challenges, many associated with the economies of scale.
Kaiser Health News reports on one facility—a 26-bed hospital in Surprise Valley, California—that is $4 million in debt—and in desperate need of outside help. The community may have found reason for hope, in the form of a 34-year-old former bodybuilder named Beau Gertz. He’s proposing a plan to use telemedicine to help boost revenue.
“If you do it correctly, there is a nice profit margin,” he said in an interview with Kaiser Health News, “There [are] extra visits you can get from telemedicine but … it has to be billed correctly, and it can’t be abused.”
Gertz says he will cover the seven-figure debt, though locals have heard a similar pitch before. Last year, the hospital board brought in an outside management company that “abandoned” the facility after just a few months.
Despite the skepticism, the 1,500 residents will vote Tuesday, June 5, whether to allow Gertz to buy the public hospital.
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Nicholas joined TriMed in 2016 as the managing editor of the Chicago office. After receiving his master’s from Roosevelt University, he worked in various writing/editing roles for magazines ranging in topic from billiards to metallurgy. Currently on Chicago’s north side, Nicholas keeps busy by running, reading and talking to his two cats.