Cumberland River Hospital Needs $5 Million Of Improvements To Open

A Florida-based healthcare company says the Cumberland River Hospital needs some $5 million of work before being operational.

Braden Health Chief Compliance Officer Kyle Kopec toured the facility Tuesday. Kopec said the hospital is overvalued at the current $1.5 million asking price.

“Essentially, obsolete equipment needs to be replaced,” Kopec said. “Mold needs to be mitigated and the facility needs renovations so it has basic safety systems throughout the building.”

Kopec said the company is still interested in a leasing opportunity to reopen. But, Kopec said a significant overhaul would be required before Braden Health continues discussions.

“There are a lot of very intrinsic details that go into running a hospital, and Braden Health is happy to provide as much information as necessary to guide them along,” Kopec said. “But until the facility is at a point where we can come in and make the several million dollar investment that we would need to make to either lease it or potentially purchase it from the county, Braden Health’s hands are just kinda slightly tied with what we can do.”

Braden Health’s team also gauged a high need for a hospital in Celina. Kopec said when a hospital closes, communities that benefited usually see death rate increase by some eight percent.

“Many of our team members, in fact, most of them are from rural areas, myself included, and we’ve all experienced what happens when a facility fails,” Kopec said. “Whether that be losing loved ones, having significant medical events happen to our own team members or even seeing what happens to our own children in those areas when those facilities aren’t present. Our hearts really go out to the people in Celina.”

Kopec said the company’s recommendation to the community is to start a conversation with its state leaders to get the facility in a position where it could be operated as a hospital.