BEAUMONT, Texas — The Medical Center of Southeast Texas' campus in Beaumont will be closing in February due to a lack of use.
The emergency room and all other hospital-related services will be shut down at 7 a.m., Friday, Feb. 2, 2024, according to Brent Cope, interim president of The Medical Center of Southeast Texas.
"We found that the Beaumont campus was severely underutilized given the needs in the region," Cope said in a statement emailed to 12News Thursday morning.
The Steward Health Care owned hospital, which is on Dowlen Rd just south of Folsom, has informed state and local regulators of the closure as well as other healthcare facilities in the area and their employees Cope said in the statement.
Steward Health Care is based out of Dallas. One of their hospitals in San Antonio closed last May and according to news reports from across the country, the company is in deep financial trouble.
Just this week, the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation asked for a briefing from the company. Lawmakers fear the company's financial issues could force the closure of some of its hospitals there.
The hospital originally opened in 2013 as Victory Medical Center Beaumont but was taken over by The Medical Center of Southeast Texas in October 2015 according to file stories.
Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick says that the closure is troubling.
"It's always a concern whenever we lose any medical facilities and I haven't noticed that there's been a lot of traffic too it. I think it was suppose to be an outpatient surgical center along with being an emergency room," he said.
12News pressed Cope and the Steward's PR firm for more details on the Beaumont closure. A spokesperson said finances are "...separate from the Beaumont issue."
County records show this building is owned by the health care company. In other parts of the country the company rents and the landlord is the one saying it's owed $50 million.
In a message sent to employees of the Beaumont hospital they were told they would be offered transfers to the hospital in Port Arthur if open positions were available.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.