BENTON, Ky. — Marshall County Hospital is not at risk of failing to meet its financial obligations, pay employees or vendors, or continue normal operations, the hospital announced Thursday.
In a letter signed by Board Chair Lauren Mann, Mann said recent information indicating that the hospital is nearing closure does not accurately reflect the hospital’s “current financial or operational reality.”
“Unfortunately, the apparent goal of this messaging is to shift public perception to allow a future sale easier,” the letter read. “Numbers don’t lie, but numbers without the full picture can easily mislead.”
According to the letter, the hospital’s audited financial statements from fiscal year 2024 show a net operating profit of $73,000. The hospital expects to show a loss for fiscal year 2025; however, the loss “is attributable to several identifiable and large non-recurring factors, which affect many healthcare organizations.”
Losses are unrelated to any litigation, for which the hospital keeps appropriate insurance, Mann wrote.
The letter cited the 17-year-old hospital’s need to make infrastructure updates, HVAC repairs and medical equipment replacements as among its expenses, as well as costs due to new practice onboarding, patient debt and inflation in costs of hospital supplies.
The letter said the Kentucky Association of Counties loan is set to mature in 2033, and “government reimbursement for interest expenses continues to decline as the loan amortizes,” with loan payments made in January of each year.
Mann said the hospital maintains 211 days of cash on hand — at a cost of about $81,000 per day — which “represents the number of days the organization could continue operations with no incoming revenue.”
The median days of cash on hand for Critical Access Hospitals — of which Marshall County Hospital is one — was about 63 days in 2022, according to the letter.
“MCH’s position is therefore substantially stronger than the industry norm,” the letter read.
Additionally, the letter indicated that Marshall County Public Hospital Taxing District had brought tax relief to the community, with the real property tax rate lowered from 3.8 in 2022 to 3.3 in 2025, the letter said.
“Assertions suggesting MCH is insolvent, nearing insolvency, or must be sold due to financial distress are not supported by the available data and misrepresent the organization’s current condition,” Mann wrote in the letter. “Rather than division and online rumors, my hope is for the community to come together and support our long-time county owned, not for profit, hospital.”
Mann’s full letter is attached: