In an effort to counter a host of dire straights rumors that have been circulating in and around Albany and Clinton County in the recent weeks concerning the local hospital and it’s status, Chief Executive Officer J.D. Mullins told the Clinton County News that while the facility is still facing bankruptcy, it’s current situation has, in fact, changed in the past few days.

Mullins noted, however, that while the situation is still very serious, the change that occurred last week was, in fact, more of a positive nature than a negative nature.

“We’re not out of bankruptcy, but we have settled with the USDA,” Mullins told the Clinton County News Tuesday morning during a brief interview. “We no longer owe them almost $18 million, but we now owe them $8.465 million.”

The change in the amount of debt owed to the USDA in the bankruptcy came late last week following meetings and hearings surrounding the Chapter 11 proceedings.

The local hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last fall, becoming one of many small healthcare facilities similar to the Clinton County Hospital that have also filed bankruptcy in the past few years.

While Mullins noted that the latest event with the local hospital and it’s current financial situation was a positive development, it certainly didn’t mean an end to the financial woes facing the facility.

“This is no guarantee that the hospital will flourish, but it does give us a fighting chance” Mullins said. “We’re not closing anytime soon.”

Mullins went on to say that the next step in the process would be to develop a plan that would come as close as possible to guaranteeing that the hospital would continue to exist.

“We have to do whatever we can to keep the hospital open,” Mullins said Monday, noting the importance of the local facility to the healthcare of the citizens of Albany and Clinton County, as well as to the economy of the community when the number of jobs that are provided locally is considered.

He also did not rule out the possible sale of the hospital to another hospital or owner, and in fact said that the most recent debt reduction development could make that possibility even more likely than before.

“This reduction in debt also makes us more marketable to another hospital or hospital system,” Mullins noted Tuesday morning. “We are going to operate as close to ‘business as usual’ as we possibly can, we are still in bankruptcy protection for another three or four months.”

When the local hospital filed for bankruptcy protection last fall, it came some six years after a rebuilding project was completed that basically placed an entire new facility on the location.

The $14.7 million addition resulted in a three-story facility that brought state of the art health care to Albany and Clinton County in the offering of new diagnostic and treatment equipment as well as surgical and patient stay areas.

Formerly a 46,000 square foot facility, the 2008 project resulted in an additional 55,000 square feet being built onto the local facility located near the western Albany City Limits on Hwy. 1590.

The building of the new facility was financed through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

When Mullins first announced in October, 2014 that the local hospital was filing for bankruptcy protection, he noted that much of the blame for the financial woes the facility was facing, fell on changes within the Medicaid system and the facility’s dependency on Medicare and Medicaid patients and payments.

“Over 80 percent of our business is Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare’s payment policies in addition to the cuts required by sequestration have reduced our income substantially,” Mullins explained last year. “Medicaid is now being operated by several Health Management Organizations. These companies’ polices have restricted access to the hospital’s services and reduced our reimbursement even more.”

He said that the noted changes had resulted in a detrimental effect on the hospital’s finances making it unable for the facility to be able to make loan payments to the USDA according to the current loan terms while at the same time being able to pay other vendors and meet the payroll obligations for the employees at the hospital.