A Michigan-based health care provider has signed a letter of intent to resume operation of the hospital in Keokuk.
Flint-based Insight will be meeting with city leaders to discuss necessary certifications, regulatory and financial support the new hospital owners would need from the state of Iowa.
Blessing Health closed the 49-bed hospital at 1600 Morgan St. last fall. Officials from Blessing Health say low demand for inpatient and emergency services forced them to shut down on Oct. 1. Blessing Health had purchased the hospital from UnityPoint Health in March 2021.
Keokuk City Administrator Cole O’Donnell said Insight still needs to receive an approval for a Certificate of Need and essential regulatory and financial support from the state.
“We will be meeting with Insight in the next week or two to get more information on what they need and what their plans are,” O’Donnell said. “Right now, we've got a letter of intent, which is more than what we had in October.”
O’Donnell said city leaders are confident that Insight will be able to resume 24-hour urgent care at the hospital.
“With this news, people can relax a little bit,” O’Donnell said. “We're confident that Insight will get everything it needs in order to open and then at that point it becomes a something that that allows us to just be able to provide the care that is necessary for all of our citizens.”
Tri States Public Radio produced this story. TSPR relies on financial support from our readers and listeners in order to provide coverage of the issues that matter to west central Illinois, southeast Iowa, and northeast Missouri. As someone who values the content created by TSPR's news department please consider making a financial contribution.