Hawkinsville, Ga (WGXA) – A Hawkinsville woman and her husband are speaking out about concerns at Taylor Regional Hospital, telling WGXA that workers aren’t being paid on time and they believe the hospital’s future is uncertain.
Yvonne Roundtree says she has seen the situation firsthand. She has been both a patient and a volunteer at the hospital for the past couple of years and says she is worried about employees and the future of healthcare in the community.
“We’re very uncertain as to the direction this is going in, and it’s very concerning to the entire community,” Roundtree said.
Roundtree says employees at the hospital are loyal and dedicated, but right now many are unsettled. She claims some employees have not been paid in weeks and says the situation has become a crisis. WGXA also received a message from a viewer on March 4 claiming employees had not been paid in three weeks.
“I don’t know how they’re paying their bills. I don’t know how they’re maintaining, but it really hurts me to see the pain in their faces sometimes when I’m visiting — the concern that they have to the point of being in tears,” Roundtree said. “They’re afraid of coming to work one day and the doors are locked and they have no job.”
Roundtree also said she noticed the inpatient floor at the hospital is currently shut down, which raised additional concerns for her and others in the community.
Her husband, Virgil Roundtree, says many employees have already left the hospital because they were worried about what might happen.
“First of all, we lost a lot of good doctors and a lot of services over here, and most of them have moved to Warner Robins because they saw the storm coming,” he said.
Virgil Roundtree also shared a story about a close friend whose mother needed emergency care several times.
“On several occasions, the ambulance driver said Taylor’s not taking anybody, so she was sent to Dodge County. And that happened numerous times. The last time, she died,” he said.
Just before WGXA’s 6 p.m. newscast, the CEO of Taylor Regional Hospital called the WGXA newsroom and said no employee has gone more than a week without being paid, but there have been delays. The CEO has also agreed to do an interview with WGXA following the airing of this story.
WGXA News will continue to follow this story and provide updates.