August 3, 2023
By News Director Jared Atha
It was announced Thursday that the Clinton Hospital Authority has received a new hospital operating license from the Oklahoma State Department of Health for the operation of Clinton Regional Hospital.
City Manager Robert Johnston says this is a major step towards getting the hospital reopened after it shut its doors late last year.
The hospital had to close after its previous operator, AllianceHealth, chose to terminate operation citing a lack of profitability. Instead of transferring state and federal licenses to the City of Clinton as previous operators had done, the company canceled the permits. Reapplication for those licenses, including the recently awarded operating license, requires the city to spend millions of dollars on upgrades to the hospital, which was built in 1973.
A measure that freed up $11.6 million to go towards those fees and required hospital improvements won 93.7% of the vote in March.
Johnston says although Thursday’s news was a major hurdle towards reopening, there is no target date as to when that will be just yet. He did say, however, that when that date comes that he anticipates more jobs to be created, and filled, at the hospital.
Currently the E.R. is operational at the hospital as well as urgent care.
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