Franklin County commissioners consider selling Weems Memorial hospital

APALACHICOLA, Fla. ( WMBB ) — Franklin County commissioners are considering the sale of George E. Weems Memorial Hospital to physician and North Walton Doctor’s Hospital CEO Dr. Huy Nguyen.

Franklin County Commissioner Ricky Jones said Dr. Nguyen reached out with an appealing offer.

“He talked about just outright buying the hospital and really making it not a county hospital anymore, which is appealing to a lot of the commissioners because we just don’t have any business in the hospital business. We need to let health care people do that,” Jones said.

Dr. Nguyen said Weems is a money pit propped up by taxpayer dollars, and it’s in dire need of an upgrade.

“The operating loss last year was a -42% operating margin. They’re in what I call, especially for rural hospitals, the death spiral. You’re just barely trying to keep the doors open, but you’re definitely not attracting new patients because you’re not providing new services,” Dr. Nguyen said.

This wouldn’t be Dr. Nguyen’s first time flipping a hospital’s physical or financial situation. He’s in the process of renovating the failed Healthmark Regional Medical Center in Defuniak Springs, renaming it North Walton Doctor’s Hospital, and opening it in June. Dr. Nguyen also became CEO of Doctors Memorial Hospital in Bonifay several years ago, and doubled its revenues. He wants to replicate the same success with Weems.

“We’re going to convert to being a Florida Rural Emergency Hospital, which then allows us to get the federal designation of a rural emergency hospital and therefore the federal subsidy. This is a hospital structure that will not only garner significant financial support to keep an emergency room open in a rural community, but better yet, help recruit physicians to those rural communities,” Dr. Nguyen said.

Jones said the residents of Franklin County deserve better medical care, and commissioners are considering Dr. Nguyen’s offer.

“Economic stability goes a long way to providing that baseline that gives people a peace of mind about where they’re trying to receive their care,” Jones said.

If Dr. Nguyen takes over Weems, he plans to renovate the facility. He also says he plans to keep the current staff.

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