This Aberdeen hospital had a rough month. Now, the hospital district is in financial trouble

Grays Harbor Community Hospital District is losing money and one of its lenders could demand repayment of a loan, which would likely force the district to seek protection from creditors under U.S. bankruptcy laws.

That’s according to The Daily World, which reported Friday that the district lost more than $2 million in November and is facing a full-year loss of $3.6 million after losing $3 million in 2016.

One reason for the shortfall: The district serves more Medicare and Medicaid patients, which are less lucrative than private-pay insurance patients.

Options for the district include asking the state legislature and Gov. Jay Inslee for financial help. The district also could issue $38 million in limited tax general obligation bonds. Meanwhile, one of the district’s lenders could call in a $30 million debt, which would likely trigger a bankruptcy filing.

Earlier this month, Aberdeen-based Grays Harbor Community Hospital axed 21 jobs in an effort to improve billing services. Following this, Aberdeen police announced they were investigating a mother and daughter who had allegedly stolen $390,000 from the hospital and a physicians group.

This story was originally published January 28, 2018 at 4:06 PM with the headline "This Aberdeen hospital had a rough month. Now, the hospital district is in financial trouble."