EKB News

WEST VIRGINIA...

The Summers County Appalachian Regional Hospital in Hinton might cut back some of its services, but officials won't comment on whether any final decisions have been made. "Like all health facilities, we are trying to adjust to the reductions in Medicare and Medicaid," said Angela Lang, spokeswoman for Lexington, Ky.- based Appalachian Regional Healthcare. "So all options are being evaluated."

Wes Dangerfield, CEO of the Hinton hospital, declined to comment about the hospital's future, referring all questions to Lang.Some people have been speculating the Summers County ARH might close down its third floor, which is a skilled nursing unit.Cleo Matthews, the former mayor of Hinton, said on Saturday, "We have 25 residents up there [on the third floor] right now. There is a capacity for 36 people."

Matthews said Hinton would lose 26 jobs if the hospital shuts down that floor."That could undermine the hospital," Matthews said. "We have 14,000 people in Hinton. We are very protective of the hospital."The hospital's skilled nursing facility serves both adults and children for conditions including heart failure, strokes, pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."We have the oldest average age in the state. So we have an exceptional need for the hospital's ER [emergency room] for folks like me or my husband," Matthews joked.