FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 8, 2014) –Auditor Adam Edelen will host a series of public hearings across the Commonwealth this summer to talk about the fiscal health of rural hospitals.

 

The 10 hearings kick off a study by the Auditor’s office that seeks to understand the challenges facing small, community hospitals that provide health care to 45 percent of Kentuckians and are key economic drivers in those communities.

 

“Rural hospitals are teetering on the edge of survival in many Kentucky communities,” Auditor Edelen said. “This is an effort to understand the degree to which our hospitals are in crisis and what might be done to save them.”

 

The Auditor’s office is currently soliciting the financial records of some 66 public, non-profit and for-profit hospitals in rural western and eastern Kentucky. A survey asking key questions about their fiscal health will then be conducted. The Auditor’s office plans to issue a report this fall.

 

Hospital administrators and staff, local elected officials, other health care providers and the public are invited to attend the hearings to voice their concerns and experiences in rural hospitals.

 

Scheduled Public Hearings

 

Prestonsburg 

10:30 a.m., Tuesday, July 15

Mountain Arts Center

50 Hal Rogers Dr.

 

Hazard

2:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 15

UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health

750 Morton Blvd.

 

Pineville

10 a.m., Wednesday, July 16

Pine Mountain State Resort Park

1050 State Park Road

 

Morehead

10 a.m., Wednesday, July 23

MSU Center for Health Education

216 W. 2nd St.

 

Maysville

2:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 23

Mason County Health Department

130 East 2nd St.

 

Madisonville

10:30 a.m. CDT, Thursday, July 31

Baptist Health

200 Clinic Dr.

8th Floor

 

Princeton

2:30 p.m. CDT, Thursday, July 31

Caldwell Medical Center

100 Medical Center Dr.

 

Leitchfield

10:30 a.m. CDT, Wednesday, Aug. 6

Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, Leitchfield Campus

101 E. Carroll Gibson Blvd.

 

Columbia

10 a.m. CDT, Tuesday, Aug. 12

Westlake Regional Hospital

901 Westlake Dr.

 

Campbellsville

2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12

Taylor Regional Hospital

1700 Old Lebanon Road

 

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 The Auditor of Public Accounts ensures that public resources are protected,
accurately valued, properly accounted for, and effectively employed to raise the quality of life of Kentuckians.

  Call 1-800-KY-ALERT or visit www.auditor.ky.gov to report suspected waste and abuse.