News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Cookeville Regional Medical Center (CRMC) has received two bids to purchase and reopen Celina’s Cumberland River Hospital (CRH).
Cookeville Mayor Ricky Shelton said the bids could be considered as early as next week’s council meeting.
“There have been several resolutions passed, the [CRMC] board has done what it’s needed to do, the city council voted to declare the property surplus and then to receive the bids,” Shelton said. “Now that the bids are back, the hospital administrator, Paul Korth, will look over that and can recommend what he thinks should happen.”
Bid documents indicate the Ohio-based Osborn Group LLC proposed a $500,000 purchase price, while Celina Healthcare, LLC offered $300,000.
Shelton, who serves on CRMC’s Board of Directors, said they wanted to find someone who could reopen the facility for its intended use.
“I believe it’s in the best interest of the region’s health and well-being to sell it to someone that is going to operate it as a hospital again,” Shelton said. “That’s what the CRMC Board, administration, and the city council wanted all along. The people that had submitted bids and things like that before were never able to provide the finances that went along with their desires.”
The hospital closed March 1 due to insufficient revenue and financial losses. Cookeville Regional Medical Center began accepting purchase bids earlier this month.
