Tim Reeves

SOUTH RENOVO — Bucktail Medical Center CEO Tim Reeves, amid a struggle to save the life of the small, rural hospital in Western Clinton County, was asked to resign this week and did so, according to various sources.

The following statement reportedly was released Wednesday evening by the Bucktail Medical Center Board of Directors, but it was not sent to The Express community newspaper:

“Effective Dec. 6, 2023, the Bucktail Medical Center Board of Directors accepted the resignation letter of Administrator Tim Reeves.

“The … Board of Directors would like to thank Mr. Reeves for his years of service. During his tenure as administrator, Mr. Reeves led the Center through a challenging bankruptcy, prepared and implemented one of the most effective hospital and nursing home responses in the state to the COVID-19 pandemic, and laid the groundwork for capital improvements that will benefit the Center for years to come. These are just a few of his accomplishments.

“His selfless work will leave a lasting impression on Clinton County. We consider ourselves lucky to have been able to work with him. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

A check of the hospital’s social media page shows no such announcement, nor does its web site.

The board did not say who is managing the medical center in Reeve’s absence.

As a result of not receiving or being notified of the release, The Express on Thursday reached out to unnamed sources at the hospital who told the newspaper that Reeves was asked to resign over issues related to cost reporting for reimbursement.

Meanwhile, it has been widely publicized that BMC — a community hospital and nursing home — has been having trouble making payroll and is looking for financial assistance from creditors and is pursuing public funds.

Reeves has been at the helm for a while now, working to steer the institution toward financial solvency.

He instituted an ambulance service this year to try to bring more patients to BMC, but that has had limited success due to patients being redirected, the sources told The Express.

It was just Dec. 1 when local officials praised Reeves and the Bucktail team for meeting payroll.

Clinton County Commissioner Miles Kessinger said at a Nov. 30 meeting the medical center “got right down to the wire” that week to ensure payroll was kept for this week.

“It got right down to the wire yesterday, but with everyone working together they were able to make payroll this week and get some padding in their budget,” Kessinger said.

This was due, in part, to officials pushing for reimbursements and receivables, he said.

“Through the legislative offices putting pressure on those other medical organizations that were paying Bucktail Medical Center, they got some of their bill paid and their receivables done,” he said. “They’ll be able to keep their doors open for the time being,” The Express reported.

Reeves sounded the alarm on the facility’s growing financial woes over the summer when he sent out a multi-page letter to local officials and legislatures looking for assistance.

Reeves sent out the letter after the facility had to dip into its reserve funding in each of its accounts that encompass general checking, payroll, capital campaign and donation accounts.

Reeves said in late summer payroll every two weeks is roughly $135,000 with taxes and other payroll expenses adding another $58,000.

That cost, he said, doesn’t cover physicians who are 1099 employees, utilities, insurance, mortgage, medication or supplies.

Due to insurers not paying the facility properly, Reeves at the time said the facility was losing about $150,000 per month.

“One insurer, knowing that our cost for a specific type of inpatient care we provide is about $6,700 per day, is willing to pay only $1,500 per day for that service,” he said in the letter.

He said another insurer wants to be reimbursed $81,000 for a service the center provided, and was paid for, “claiming they did not get the proper documentation.”

BMC has a lot on its plate. Reeves recently outlined a number of ongoing initiatives:

In the letter, Reeves gave a breakdown on how the center is working to better its services and the facility for the Western Clinton County community. This includes:

— Re-establish an ambulance service with this year’s purchase of an ambulance.

— Entered into a two-year lease agreement with MXR imaging for a CT Scanner, due in September. We strongly believe these two strategies are imperative for increased patient volumes, which is the key to viability for the facility.

— Secured a $1 million USDA Emergency Rural Healthcare grant for several necessary projects, including major infrastructure work needed to progress with the Master Plan. This infrastructure work includes:

— Replace leaking roof over the hospital wing of the facility and replace leaking roof over the services wing of the facility.

— Repair four hospital rooms that have been unusable due to water damage from the roof leak. Necessary demolition is complete. New drywall, ceilings, and floors will be completed when the roof has been replaced.

— Replace leaking water piping in the domestic hot water system.

— Replace two 43-year-old gas boilers that provide heat for much of the facility. This project has been awarded and is scheduled to start once the boilers are onsite. The lead time for the boilers could be many months.

— Purchase a portable X-Ray. The unit is here and in service.

— Purchase a new cardiac monitor. The unit is here and operational.

— Recruited a second provider to increase patient volumes and to provide more options for patients.

— Increased the charge master (what is charged for each service) however, insurance companies will only recognize increases of 1 percent to 2 percent per year regardless of actual cost.

— Renegotiating reimbursement contracts with insurers.