Astria Health will reorganize instead of selling its assets.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved Astria Health’s motion to lease the closed Astria Regional Medical Center in Yakima to the state of Washington as part of its coronavirus response.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court will hold a hearing Tuesday on a motion that would allow Astria Health to lease the shuttered Astria Regional Medical Center in Yakima to the state for use as a field hospital for coronavirus response efforts.
In a speech to the Yakima Southwest Rotary in August, John Gallagher, CEO of Astria Health, noted that the organization had hired 48 new specialists in the nearly two years since the organization acquired hospitals in Yakima and Toppenish.
A community job fair Thursday became an unofficial networking and catch-up session for former Astria Regional Medical Center employees.
YOUR ASTRIA STORIES
The Yakima Herald-Republic will continue to cover the Astria Health bankruptcy and Regional closure in the days ahead.
We need your help. If you are a staff member, patient, family member or community member with questions, thoughts or stories to share, please let us know. We have a form at http://bit.ly/AstriaComments.
We’re also looking for historical photos and stories about how Regional has served Yakima over the years. Email photos to news@yakimaherald.com. Include information about who is in the photo and when it was taken.
Contact reporter Mai Hoang at mhoang@yakimaherald.com or call the newsroom at 509-577-7751
Astria Health has started efforts to market the former Astria Regional Medical Center property.
In May of this year, a group of Heritage University physician assistant students will start a year of clinical rotations.
Astria Health wants to continue its bankruptcy reorganization process into the summer, according to a series of documents filed Friday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
Nearly a year ago, Janneke Emery stopped doing ultrasounds at Astria Regional Medical Center. The move to halt services came after months of the hospital being, at best, late with payments, and in many cases failing to pay for some services entirely.
Shortly after Astria Health filed for bankruptcy protection in May, David Wood interviewed a physician assistant and a nurse practitioner who worked at Astria Regional Medical Center to work at his urgent care clinics in Union Gap and Ellensburg.
Astria Health has resolved issues with Medicare payments and hasn’t yet decided what will happen with the Regional Medical Center building in Yakima now that the hospital has closed, the organization’s attorney said Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Virginia Mason Memorial hospital in Yakima is exploring options to expand cardiac services to make up for the community’s loss of Astria Regional.
Virginia Mason Memorial in Yakima has been balancing efforts to provide high-quality care and cut costs for years, as the health care climate has changed and patient payments have trended away from private insurance, according to its CEO.
Virginia Mason Memorial hospital in Yakima has hired nearly 50 new staff since Astria Regional’s closure was announced, absorbing former staff from the neighboring hospital to fill open positions.
Virginia Mason Memorial hospital has opened a new evening clinic in Yakima as part of a series of efforts to meet the needs of community members after Astria Regional closed its emergency room.
Attorneys for Astria Health say the closure of Regional Medical Center in Yakima puts the rest of the organization on firmer financial ground as efforts continue to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
After a career in law enforcement, James Rivard Sr. worked as a security officer and maintenance man at St. Elizabeth Hospital for about four years, retiring in the early 1990s. He died there, on the fourth floor, in 1999 after a long battle with leukemia.
State lawmakers from Yakima County are exploring what can be done to support those affected by the Astria Regional Medical Center closure and possibly prevent a similar situation elsewhere.
During Tuesday’s hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, nurses, physicians and other staff members emphasized the impact the closure of Astria Regional Medical Center would have on the poorest members of the community.
Astria Regional Medical Center in Yakima is the second hospital in Washington state to close its doors in the past five years.
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