Hutcheson Medical Centers Has a Buyer

After several weeks of waiting for a buyer, the hospital that was thought to be a loss is gearing up to reopen.

Stuart James, attorney for Catoosa County, said that the reopening of Hutcheson will do so much for North Georgia.

"We are really happy about healthcare being provided to the citizens of Walker County.Plus the whole North Georgia area."

On Friday, it was originally thought that People’s Choice would be the new owners after they offered 4 million dollars to buy the medical center.

However that did not happen and James said a new buyer has stepped in.

"The Hutcheson Medical Center sale was finally approved. It went over to Apollo Healthcare Services, who will be operating the hospital under a management agreement."

ValorBridge did the negotiating to purchase the hospital and put a 4.2 million dollars on the table.

However, James said, there are still many details to work out.

"Apollo will be making the decisions on who they’re going to hire and how they’re going to run the hospital and I think you can expect some people to hopefully be gainfully employed again. These regional hospitals I think are really important for areas like North Georgia. Without them, you know I think you’d face a lot healthcare issues where people might be denied healthcare all together."

As of right now there is no set date as to when Hutcheson will reopen their doors, but James said we can expect to hear more details about the new purchase in the days to come.

All parties have until Christmas Eve to complete the negotiation.