In an April 21 press conference, Washington County Memorial Hospital (WCMH) Interim Chief Executive Officer, Joe Rouche and WCMH Director of Public Relations, Melissa Richardson met with representatives from local newspapers in an effort to keep the public updated on the status of negotiations between Saint Vincent Health (SVH) and WCMH.      
    According to Rouche, SVH is still in the analysis/evaluation stage. When asked if the analysis is intended to determine if “the deal” is going to happen or if its purpose is to determine the price SVH will pay for WCMH, Rouche said, “I am an operations person, I am very good at running a hospital. Those kinds of decisions are made by people with a skill set that I don't possess.” Rouche did say that he is confident that both SVH and WCMH are working toward “signing on the bottom line” sometime in 2009. Rouche also explained that besides managing WCMH, he has the responsibility to inventory and assess the physical plant, equipment, and other aspects of the hospital. “From my perspective as a CEO, I need to have a handle on the condition of everything from the air conditioning unit to the most minor piece of equipment. That information is also important to those within the SVH organization whose job it is to negotiate the deal with Washington County. It is crucial to know what is an asset and what is a liability.”

    Over the last several months many businesses and individuals have felt the effects of these difficult economic times. Unfortunately, hospitals are no different; especially small rural hospitals such as WCMH. Although they recently implemented several cost-saving measures throughout the hospital, it is necessary to take those cost savings one step further by closing South Central effective April 30.
    “As a valued patient of this clinic, WCMH wants to continue to be your healthcare provider of choice. Therefore, our patients have two options.” The first is to continue as a patient of WCMH and have your records automatically transferred to one of our other primary care locations. This can be accomplished by calling South Central at 812-472-9230 until April 30 or by calling any of our other clinics after April 30 or faxing a written request to Medical Records at 812-883-8524. The second option is to stop by any of the clinics listed below and fill out the appropriate paperwork to have your records moved to your healthcare provider of choice outside the WCMH network of clinics. The four primary care clinic locations in Washington County that are available to treat you and your family with no interruptions in service are: Pekin Community Healthcare,Campbellsburg Community Healthcare, Salem Pediatrics and Labor of Love Women’s Health
    If you have any questions or concerns regarding the closure of South Central, please call Outpatient Services Clinical Supervisor Sherry Hammond, at 812-883-5881 ext. 1205.