Future of Wadley hospitals unclear as Steward healthcare files for bankruptcy

TEXARKANA, USA ( KTAL/KMSS ) – The Associated Press reports that Steward Health Care , which operates Wadley Regional Medical Center, plans to sell all its hospitals.

This follows the company’s announcement earlier this week that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

A local non-profit, Southwest Arkansas Healthcare Authority, was recently formed to create stability and work towards a long-term solution for the region’s healthcare services.

“The mission of this organization is really to ensure that quality health care services in Southwest Arkansas, generally speaking, are maintained and continue,” said Anna Lee Powell, a board member for Southwest Arkansas Healthcare Authority.

Meanwhile, Steward said they are working out a financing deal with Medical Properties Trust, a healthcare real estate investment company.

This is to ensure that all of their hospitals, including those in Texarkana, Texas, and Hope, Arkansas, can maintain normal day-to-day operations through bankruptcy.

“First of all, we applaud that effort because closed health care is not good for any community,” said Powell.

The Southwest Arkansas Healthcare Authority said it will monitor the situation and work to attract the right company.

“We’re going to advocate for partners that we believe have a long-term commitment to our community and as a community-minded organization, would like to not see a fly-by-night company come into our community,” said Powell.

They said it’s unfortunate that the future of local healthcare workers and patients is now at risk because of things outside of their control.

“This is not a reflection of their work. This is not a reflection of the quality of care that they receive when they come to Wadley at Hope. This is mismanagement from the corporate level and I want to be clear about that,” said Powell.

The future of these hospitals remains uncertain, but the construction on the new Wadley medical campus in Texarkana, Texas, which began in 2021, is still underway.

According to Robins and Morton, the project’s contractor, work was paused in February but they received a new contract to resume work in April.

They declined to name the new client at this time and they are still working to determine a new project completion timeline.

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