A senior physician at Hunt Regional Healthcare has published a column defending the decision to close the system’s emergency departments in Commerce and Quinlan.
Dr. Robert Deuell, Hunt Regional’s chief medical officer and a former Republican state senator representing Greenville, wrote in the Greenville Herald-Banner that the closures were a difficult but necessary move to preserve services at Hunt Regional Medical Center in Greenville. He said lower numbers of true emergency patients, higher numbers of non-paying patients, and declining reimbursement rates made the Commerce and Quinlan facilities financially unsustainable.
“This decision was not a ‘reckless gamble,’” Deuell wrote, responding to an earlier opinion piece in the Herald-Banner. “It was a hard decision not taken lightly by anyone to preserve our district hospital in Greenville.”
Deuell emphasized that Hunt Regional has added services over the past four decades, including cardiology, gastroenterology, neurology, intensive care, and stroke care, as well as residency training programs. He also noted that urgent care centers will continue operating in Commerce and will be established in Quinlan, while Hunt County EMS stations units in both communities.
While Deuell pointed to non-paying patients as a strain on hospital finances, Texas continues to report the highest uninsured rate in the nation. About 18 percent of Texans under 65 lacked health insurance in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals says 71 counties currently lack a hospital.
Deuell wrote that his column was a personal response and not an official statement from Hunt Regional.
