The Clanton Advertiser

The timetable for re-opening Chilton Medical Center has yet to be set, according to Chilton County Hospital Board secretary and spokesman Sibley Reynolds.

The Chilton County Commission voted Monday to give $960,000 to the hospital board to help fund a plan to re-open the hospital on a trial basis and purchase the facility if the business proves financially viable.

But Reynolds said Wednesday the board is still waiting on a written agreement from Sunlink Health Systems Inc., whose subsidiary, Central Alabama Medical Associates LLC, owns the hospital facility and equipment.

A verbal agreement was in place before the board asked the commission for the $960,000. That money represents proceeds from the board’s sale of the hospital in 1983. A portion of the money from the hospital’s sale was turned over to the commission.

Officials close to the situation said the commission would not be handing over a large lump sum; instead commissioner Tim Mims would serve as a liaison between the board and the entity holding the account. As a need for money arose, the board would request the funds, and then Mims would work to transfer the money.

After a written agreement is received from Sunlink, Reynolds said a court-appointed receiver would assume control of the hospital for the trial period. During the trial, which could last 30-90 days, a third-party health care group would assess the business’ sustainability.