© 2024 Public Radio East
Public Radio For Eastern North Carolina 89.3 WTEB New Bern 88.5 WZNB New Bern 91.5 WBJD Atlantic Beach 90.3 WKNS Kinston 88.5 WHYC Swan Quarter 89.9 W210CF Greenville
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Six Martin General Hospital clinics are closed after no buyer was found

PRE News & Ideas | By Annette Weston
Published October 5, 2023 at 9:06 AM EDT
Over the past decade, hospitals have been rapidly building outpatient clinics or purchasing existing independent ones. It was a lucrative business strategy because such clinics could charge higher rates, on the premise that they were part of a hospital. Medicare's recent rule change puts a damper on all that.
Hero Images
/
Getty Images
File: Six clinics run by a shuttered eastern North Carolina hospital have stopped operating as of Thursday because new owners were not found.

Several clinics run by a shuttered eastern North Carolina hospital have stopped operating as of Thursday because new owners were not found.

The six clinics run by Martin General Hospital remained open after the Williamston hospital shut down on August 3.

According to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Roanoke Orthopedics, Roanoke Surgical, Martin Family Medicine, Williamston Heart and Vascular, and Martin Specialty Clinics in Williamston and Rural Health Clinic in Plymouth are now closed.

The clinics were not part of the hospital bankruptcy.

The hospital temporarily kept the clinics open for 60 days after the closure, and told the state they hoped to find a buyer to keep them open.

In total, the six clinics employ about 28 employees.
Annette Weston
Annette is originally a Midwest gal, born and raised in Michigan, but with career stops in many surrounding states, the Pacific Northwest, and various parts of the southeast. An award-winning journalist and mother of four, Annette moved to eastern North Carolina in 2019 to be closer to family – in particular, her two young grandchildren. It’s possible that a -27 day with a -68 windchill in Minnesota may have also played a role in that decision. In her spare time, Annette does a lot of kiddo cuddling, reading, and producing the coolest Halloween costumes anyone has ever seen. She has also worked as a diversity and inclusion facilitator serving school districts and large corporations. It’s the people that make this beautiful area special, and she wants to share those stories that touch the hearts of others. If you have a story idea to share, please reach out by email to westona@cravencc.edu.
See stories by Annette Weston