Texas Emergency Hospital in Cleveland closed its doors abruptly this week as new ownership prepares to take over operations. The shutdown comes amid a transition from Emergency Hospital Systems to new owners operating under the name Texas Rural Hospital.
While the hospital’s license has already been transferred, and the facility itself — owned by Dr. Roy Moparty — is also in the process of being sold to the new investors, financial delays disrupted payroll and supply chain orders, prompting the decision to temporarily halt operations.
“Some of the finances did not line up in time for employees to be paid for the last two pay cycles or for supplies to be ordered to safely continue operations,” said DJ Rutherford, who is managing the sale on behalf of the incoming owners. “We literally felt like we couldn’t deliver safe care, so we had to shut down because it wasn’t safe. This was done so temporarily.”
Rutherford said the new ownership group remains committed to the facility and envisions significant long-term improvements.
“We have plans. There are a lot of plans. Step one is getting through this, and then we will start working on our other plans,” Rutherford said. “We want to focus on preventative care. We want to do other ancillary services. We want to do non-narcotic detoxes. We are going to start doing mental health and psychiatric services.”
He added that the new investors are passionate about the project but that progress depends on financial backing.
“It all involves investors to loosen their purse strings,” Rutherford said. “One of the things I have discovered during this transition is that we aren’t just serving the 25,000 people in the Cleveland area. We are potentially servicing 100,000 people in the surrounding areas as well.”
Rutherford emphasized that the shutdown is being resolved and expects the hospital to reopen soon.
“The situation is being rectified as we speak, so it should be a matter of days before the hospital is reopened,” he said. “I’ve already notified the state, and the state gave us a little wiggle room to be able to get things the way they need to be so we can be back on target.”
Despite the unexpected pause, Rutherford assures that the closure is temporary and tied solely to transitional challenges, not regulatory or licensing concerns.
“No one has been terminated, no jobs have been lost. All of the employees will be paid. We just have to make sure we can fulfill the needs of the community in a safe manner before we reopen,” he said.
By the time that the employees are paid I’m extimating losing a building, my zero turn for work and probably our camper slot that we live in. I’m sure others also have the same problems as we do as many that worked there are friends