North Metro Medical Center in Jacksonville shuts down

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — There are no patients, doctors or nurses at North Metro Medical Center in Jacksonville. The city's only hospital shut its doors late Tuesday night, leaving staff without a job and residents without an emergency room.

Jacksonville Mayor Bob Johnson says he's known for months that North Metro's closure was imminent. He says since he found out he's been working to find another hospital operator to take over the space, but that hasn't happened just yet.

"I've been in contact with them since the second week in office."

Johnson says his father was one of the doctors that helped start North Metro Medical Center back when it was a city-owned hospital.

He says he’s been in talks with hospital operators in hopes of having one of them purchase and run the facility.

"Nothing is set in stone. It could be in place as early as next week,” Johnson said.

But in reality, it could be several months. In the meantime, Jacksonville's fire chief and EMS supervisor say their paramedics will still provide the same level of service, but transport times will more than likely be impacted.

"North Metro Medical Center it was about one to two minutes it took to get there, Springhill Baptist was about 13 minutes - and a nine-minute drive to St. Vincent North," said Chief Alan Laughy.

But over the last year, nearly two-thirds of the 2,900 runs made by Jacksonville EMS were made to hospitals other than the now-shuttered North Metro Medical Center.

That’s likely due to the hospital dropping out of the state's trauma system more than two years ago.

"If they've lost that status then we're not supposed to take any trauma whatsoever there," said David Jones, Jacksonville EMS supervisor.

"With evidence-based medicine we're changing a lot. We're looking now at not getting a patient to the closest facility, but the closest, most appropriate facility to where they can do more definitive care for the patient - and that's not always your local hospital."

The hospital's parent company is apparently now focusing on psychiatric medicine.

A copy of the statement sent to KATV from that company on the hospital's closure is attached.

Last year, the company, Shreveport-based Allegiance Health Management, agreed to pay more than $1.7 million in a settlement involving hospitals, including North Metro, submitting Medicare claims for services that were not medically reasonable or necessary.