JAMESTOWN, Tenn. (WTVF) — Jamestown Regional Medical Center, the only hospital in Fentress County, has closed.
CEO Michael Alexander says he’s hopeful the hospital will be able to reopen but it’s unclear as to when that could happen.
Not only is it the only hospital in the county, it's also one of the largest employers in the area – in which the median household income hovers around $20,000, far below the national poverty line.
County officials estimated nearly 150 doctors, nurses and other staff members are employed at Jamestown Regional, which is owned by Rennova Health.
More than a dozen people were laid off on Friday.
"This community needs this hospital, desperately. If it closes, people are going to die and that's just not right," said Joanne Martin, who dedicated nearly two decades of her life there.
County EMT's are having to transport patients to the next closest hospital in Crossville -- located nearly 45 minutes away -- after the ER stopped accepting patients via ambulance.
Read more:
Consequences 'deadly' as another rural TN hospital may close
