Adams County Regional Medical Center Has Change In Ownership

For nearly 70 years, the Adams County Hospital, known today as the Adams County Regional Medical Center has been a publicly owned facility. As of October 1st, it is now a 501c3 not for profit hospital.

Adams County Hospital (ACH) was conceived in November 1948 through the support of 85% of the voters for a $250,000 Bond Issue. Shortly after that, the Governor appointed a Board of County Hospital Trustees to oversee the planning of a hospital: R. L. Lawwill, M.D., Seaman; Robert B. Ellison, M.D., Peebles; Harold Seaman, West Union; and P. Bennie Colletti, Manchester. In August 1951 the first Operating Board of Trustees of ACH was appointed by the County Commissioners: Robert B. Ellison, M.D., Peebles; Wilbur Greenlee, Seaman; A. O. Shumaker, Winchester; Victor Ralston, Stout; Lauradell Dugle, Manchester; and Glen Mosier, West Union. Mr. Mosier was elected Chairman and Mrs. Dugle was elected Secretary.

An open house was held on July 20, 1952.

The change in ownership will not even be noticed by those that use the facility, however, to those that are employed at Adams County Regional Medical Center, most of the employees will no longer take part in the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System (OPERS). The hospital will also not be governed by government standards in Ohio regarding paid time off. Not paying into OPERS for employees is expected to save the hospital hundreds of thousands of dollars.

CEO Alan Bird sent an enthusiastic email to hospital staff last week announcing the change. “I just wanted to let each of you know that as of 2:27 pm today, the agreement (financing) for the county hospital to become a 501c3 not for profit hospital was completed,” said Bird.
“The title company worked with the Adams County Auditor and Recorder earlier today and the deal is now official and closed. This transformational project has been happening and moving forward for over four years and we are finally there.”

Adams County Regional Medical Center started to get into financial trouble several years after building the new facility that opened in 2007. Under the leadership of Linda Niles, a new facility was built with large amounts of debt at high interest rates. According to one expert, the building was built much larger than a small community could support. In 2015, ACRMC was on the brink of closing its doors and had stopped making regular bond payments. Bond holders assisted in bringing in a management company, Rural Hospital Group (RHG) to begin the financial turnaround of the hospital.

Over the past few years, hospital employees, the Board of Directors, RHG, and County Commissioners worked together to put in place financial and operational processes that will put the hospital on a long-term path to success. This summer, RHG worked to find an outside lender to refinance the hospital bonds.

The “new” Adams County Regional Medical Center has not been sold to any outside groups. As a non for profit organization, the facility is locally governed and controlled by Spud Gustin, Peggy Chalker, Matt Armstrong, Jack McCoy, Dane Clark, Chad Wilson and Sherry Spencer. The Rural Hospital Group will continue to manage the hospital.

As previously reported on in the Informer, after nearly 20 years, the tax support that Adams County and its citizens have granted the hospital will end in March of 2020.
“ACRMC and its employees are indebted to and express gratitude for the local community, its doctors, and other medical staff, the hospital foundation/auxiliary and any and all people who helped ACRMC become great again,” said Bird.