Editor’s note: Story corrected to reflect correct closing date, and also to include additional closure information.

WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — The only hospital in Mingo County will close its doors after the end of the day Monday.

Williamson Memorial will close its doors at the end of the business day on Monday, leaving Mingo County without a hospital of its own.

According to a cease to operate notice issued by the hospital, Williamson Memorial will cease providing emergency medical care and medical care to patients at 1 a.m. Tuesday. The hospital will also cease its participation in the Medicare on Tuesday, the notice said.

In a message to employees, providers and the community posted to the hospital’s Facebook page, hospital CEO/CFO Gene Preston said the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is ultimately to blame for the impending closure. He says declines in volume due to the pandemic were too sudden and severe for the hospital to continue to operate, despite operating improvements over a seven-month period.

Preston also wrote that he is confident the hospital will reopen under its new ownership once the pandemic is under control.

“It is with a very heavy heart that we have no other alternative to keep the facility operating,” Prestons wrote. “However, the new facility owner has expressed his desire to seek out the needed partners for emergency services, lab and x-ray to return to the hospital in the future. It is for this reason, I am confident that services will return to that facility to serve the Williamson community once our country’s healthcare system stabilizes post pandemic.”

The next nearest hospital to Williamson is across the Tug River in South Williamson, Kentucky — the Tug Valley ARH Regional Medical Center.

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