CHARLESTON, W.Va. — State lawmakers are working on a plan to potentially sell four state-owned hospitals in West Virginia.

House of Delegates Health Committee Chairwoman Amy Summers (R-Taylor) told MetroNews she’s been in talks with state Department of Health Facilities Secretary Michael Caruso after last Friday’s announcement to review four of the state’s seven healthcare facilities.

Summers said the state is considering whether to rebuild or replace aging infrastructure at those facilities, but is also looking at ownership changes for Jackie Withrow Hospital in Beckley, John Manchin Sr. Health Care Center in Fairmont, Hopemont Hospital in Terra Alta and Lakin Hospital in West Columbia.

“The ultimate goal, according to Secretary Caruso, is to maintain the care for these residents in some manner and also to continue to maintain jobs for the employees that work there,” Summers said.

Caruso said in a statement the state wants to bolster the quality of care for seniors across West Virginia through a strategic capital investment plan for the facilities. The initiative includes hiring an outside firm to develop a long-term strategy.

The state has hired Lument Securities, LLC, which it describes as “a leading advisor in healthcare mergers and acquisitions”. Lument will help the state look for buyers.

“Ensuring the quality and continuity of our long-term care facilities is a top priority for West Virginia. By partnering with a world-renowned firm, known for their expertise in healthcare matters, we are poised to preserve and elevate the standard of care for our population served by the long-term care facilities,” Caruso stated.

Del. Joey Garcia (D-Marion) questioned the timing of the DHF’s press release on Friday afternoon.

“As somebody who from time to time has to communicate with the public as a public official, you want to put something out on a Monday morning or a Tuesday, Wednesday or even Thursday, but when you do it on Friday, it just appears like you’re trying to hide something,” Garcia told MetroNews affiliate WAJR in Morgantown.

Garcia has requested a public meeting to clear up community concerns.

Earlier this year, an elderly, nonverbal man died after being placed in a hot whirlpool at Hopemont. He died in January as a result of severe burns related to unsafe water temperatures resulting from the failure of a water tank.

Summers said while the man’s death is tragic and the case is still under investigation, it’s still worth noting Hopemont is an old building.

“Really old facilities do come with really old infrastructure, so that is something that needs replaced,” she said.

Earlier this year, Summers worked to get a bill through the Legislature that would’ve allowed members of legislative oversight committees to go into private session and ask questions in real time about the state’s handling of cases. The bill passed the House of Delegates early on during the 2024 Regular Legislative Session, but got hung up in the state Senate.

Summers and other lawmakers have been touring state-owned hospitals since then to see what changes need to be made.

“We’ve been to every single facility so far that the state owns except for Lakin and Welch Hospital. We will see Lakin at the end of August. We have not planned to see Welch yet, but we will as well,” she said.

State Senate Finance Committee Chairman Eric Tarr (R-Putnam) told MetroNews there’s been quite a few issues in state-owned hospitals up until not that need to be addressed.

“People have been harmed quite significantly in our state-hospitals. We know that our infrastructure in state hospitals, a lot of them, have been dilapodated,” Tarr said.

There’s also been a lot of conversation on whether West Virginia should be in the delivery of health care business or should people who deliver health care be in the business of delivering health care, Tarr said, adding it’s important to know what the state’s money is being used for.

“I think we need to fund the result for what you would want for somebody in a state hospital, for a patient who is vulnerable and needs that care, instead of funding a single line and never knowing what our taxpayer dollar did to assist people in those hospitals,” Tarr said.

Tarr said hospital efficincies are also problem.

“The efficiency for what we get from the dollar appropriating to those is lacking. For instance, we had a $100 million improvement request for contract nursing and then we go and find out that within five hospitals, there’s nearly 40 contracts for contract nursing providers. You go into any other hospital system and you’ll have one or two,” Tarr explained.

Del. Jonathan Pinson (R-Mason) said this isn’t the first time jobs were on the line at Lakin Hospital. The hospital is located in his district.

“We back up for four years ago right after I took office, it was announced that the hospital would be closed and employees were offered some type of severance package and we fought hard to prevent that from happening,” Pinson said on MetroNews affiliate WMOV Radio in Ravenswood.

Protecting hospital workers should remain top of mind when having these discussions, Pinson said. He said these are state employees with state retirement benefits.

“Many of them are 10-20 years into a career, so if we move this hospital into the private sector, how does this affect them? That’s a valid question,” he said.

The Justice administration has been working to tackle issues at state hospitals for a while, which is why Pinson said the state shouldn’t delay progress and wait for a new governor. He said a lot is up in the air right now.

“Think that there’s a lot to be learned. There needs to be a lot more information had before we can reach a decision whether this is going to be a good opportunity for our community, the individuals that are employed there and the residents who live there,” Pinson said.

Lawmakers are expected to receive a quality report on every state-owned hospital during the August special session.