News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Cumberland River Hospital Owner Johnny Presley has confirmed the price tag for the facility at $1.5 million.
Presley said some $400,000 of a UCDD loan used to purchase the hospital in 2019 will not carry to a new owner.
“I have spoken with several entities about acquiring the facility,” Presley said. “The hospital has been put out as far as pricing. It has been priced by several individuals. The city (Celina) has expressed some very serious interest in it.”
One of those entities, Presley confirmed, is Florida based Braden Healthcare. The company purchases rural hospitals that have shut down and work to reopen facilities such as the Decatur County Hospital.
The asking price some million dollars more than what Presley purchased the hospital. Presley said he spent $200,000 to buy the equipment and facility from Cookeville Regional and $300,000 from the city of Cookeville for the property.
“We renovated the OR and got it fully functional and ready to do surgeries,” Presley said. “We put in new technology as well as lights, tables and ran medical air throughout the whole facility as well. We made a significant investment in upgrading and improving the hospital.”
Presley said he then invested around a million dollars into the facility for staffing and improvements. Presley said in his mind, the best option now is for a municipality to own. However, Presley said Braden Healthcare has also contacted him expressing interest.
“In my opinion, for the community to have control of the facility is best owned by the citizens and the citizens of that community are actually the residents and tax payers,” Presley said. “Regardless if it is me or Braden Healthcare or whatever, you run a significant risk of instability and not having facilities. If you own it, you can manage it and run it yourself, you can hire a consultant to run it for you or you can just out right give it to someone to provide the hospital. (…) If the individual does not come through on his commitment to the citizens and tax payers to provide the service agreed to, then the city and county can step right back in and take it away from whoever.”
