Hospital in Camden to close, transition into urgent care facility

CAMDEN, AL (WSFA) - John Paul Jones Hospital in Camden will be closing as an acute care hospital, board Chairman George Alford said in a statement released to The Wilcox Progressive Era.

Alford said the hospital will be transitioned into an urgent care facility, and the ambulance service will also operate.

The chairman cited high poverty and unemployment rates and Wilcox County's declining population as factors that make it "nearly impossible" for a rural hospital to survive.

"An example of this and the low reimbursement rates we face is, between October 1, 2016 and May 31, 2017 J. Paul Jones Hospital had $3,880,000.00 in charges through the Emergency Room alone. We were reimbursed a total of $850,000.00 or approximately 22% of the charges. Of this total, $1,300,000.00 was Medicaid charges, and of these we were reimbursed only $129,000.00, or about 10%," Alford stated.

Alford thanked the hospital's employees for their service to the community.

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