Bay Area Regional Medical Center closing, filing for bankruptcy

WEBSTER, Texas (FOX 26) - Bay Area Regional Medical Center will file for bankruptcy and close permanently, the hospital announced Friday.

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce that Bay Area Regional will close its doors on May 10, 2018,” Stephen K. Jones, Jr., CEO at Bay Area Regional said in a statement. “We want to thank our staff who worked tirelessly, physicians who chose to practice medicine and patients who received care at our hospital.”

The company says it invested $200 million during the past five years of construction and operation. It will continue to work with lenders on the closing process, including the payment of its payroll obligations.

The closure leaves 700 employees jobless, according to a hospital spokesman. Additionally 115 patients will have to be transferred to other hospitals or appropriately discharged.

“We’re just kind of heartbroken," said Jennifer Dunlap-Valdez, a pre-op nurse. "We’ve cried a lot. We’re just in disbelief. We came in thinking we have a job, and we no longer have a job.”

She says she was told at noon Friday to stop prepping patients for surgery and head home. Her job was over.

“We prepped people and thought that everything was good to go for surgery today, and it wasn’t,” said Dunlap-Valdez.

A medical center spokesman tells FOX 26 they had more than enough patients to stay in business, but were unable to get affordable managed-care contracts with insurance companies, forcing them to close their doors.

Bay Area Regional opened its doors on July 21, 2014.