WEBSTER, Texas – Bay Area Regional Medical Center, LLC announced Friday the closing of Bay Area Regional and will be filing for bankruptcy next week.
In a press release, Bay Area Regional says it invested $200 million during the past five years during construction and operation. The company added that it is continuing to work with lenders on an orderly closing process, including the payment of Bay Area Regional’s payroll obligations.
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce that Bay Area Regional will close its doors on May 10, 2018,” Stephen K. Jones, Jr., CEO at Bay Area Regional said in a statement. “We want to thank our staff who worked tirelessly, physicians who chose to practice medicine and patients who received care at our hospital.”
Ray McLaughlin works in surgery and says Friday was the first he and his coworkers learned they have no jobs to return to Monday morning.
Asked to describe the atmosphere in the hospital moments before his last shift, McLaughlin said, “It’s like a cross between the last day of school and a funeral.”
McLaughlin just got engaged, and with his own mounting medical expenses, he had no plans of leaving his place of employment over the past three years.
Fortunately, nurses came to relieve McLaughlin and others who were leaving. These nurses plan to work into the weekend.
Cory Fuca almost didn’t believe his wife this morning, who was inside working at the time.
“She texted me and said, 'Hey, I no longer have a job.' I thought she was kidding,” Fuca said.
It’s been three months since Fuca left Bay Area Regional’s leadership team and Fuca says there was no indication that bankruptcy was even an option.
Fuca knew the hospital was in financial trouble, but always anticipated there was a plan in the event they couldn’t pay their bills.
Meanwhile, patients are being transferred to nearby hospitals any way they can while others with more serious health concerns are left waiting next to nurses who have no idea if they’re volunteers at this point.
People walking into the hospital later in the evening say they found out on the news broadcasting in the hospital, that the hospital was closing their doors. They say there were no disclaimers or notices.
Although they were helped, doctors later explained how only the emergency wing would be available until May 10. Nurses, however, say they expect to move all patients out of the hospital by Sunday.
Bay Area Regional opened its doors on July 21, 2014.