WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — Williamson County commissioners voted this week to sign a letter of intent to exclusively negotiate with Ascension St. Thomas to buy Williamson Health — even as the hospital system faces potential loss of Medicare and TennCare funding over a devastating medication mix-up.
Nearly a month ago, 4 patients were given the wrong medication during routine joint replacement surgeries at Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown. At least 3 of those patients are now paralyzed.
Since then, Ascension has not developed a safety plan that state and federal regulators have accepted. If it does not submit an approved plan, Midtown Hospital and Saint Thomas West could lose all Medicare funding. All TennCare funding is also at risk. The federal government has given the hospital system until Sept. 18 to submit an acceptable plan.
Despite those concerns, Williamson County commissioners voted to move forward with the next step in the process to sell one of the county's largest assets to Ascension St. Thomas.
Lynn Smith, a Williamson Health patient navigating a stage one breast cancer diagnosis, said she trusts her doctors and treatment plan — but she is watching the sale closely.
"I was concerned after the big incident with Ascension," Smith said.
"The process does feel fast," Smith said.
Smith said she is thinking beyond her own care.
"I think about the patients who are going to be there after me and are we gonna get the same level of care," Smith said.
She also raised questions about public access to information throughout the process.
"What are they gonna share? How much will we hear and will they continue to listen to public opinion," Smith said.
"What about the evaluation? Are we really getting the best deal we can for the property? What about appraising the property?" Commissioner Gregg Lawrence said.
Commissioner Gregg Lawrence echoed those concerns.
"We wanna know what services are gonna be added here. The RFP has some indication of what Ascension wants to do but it's not specific. Are we gonna get open heart surgeries here? Are we gonna get complicated spine surgeries or neurosurgeries," Lawrence said.
The letter of intent is designed to allow Williamson County to fully examine Ascension St. Thomas — and vice versa. That review would include Ascension's financials and the missteps that led to the medication mix-up. But it is not yet clear how or when that information will be made public.
A confidentiality clause in the letter of intent means some details may not be immediately disclosed.
"There's a confidentiality clause in the LOI, so for a period there may be some things divulged but some things may be kept confidential but at the end of the process I'm fully committed to making everything transparent," Lawrence said.
Smith said the uncertainty is unsettling.
"It feels like there are a lot of unknowns," Smith said.
"The public needs to know that the sale is going to the right organization," Smith said.
Williamson County is paying attorney Jesse Neil $900 an hour to represent the county government in this process. His legal fees have already surpassed six figures — costs that will be billed to county taxpayers.
Some commissioners have raised the possibility of a more affordable option: hiring a consultant. A consultant could help appraise the property and determine its value.
"Yes, it would probably save us a lot of money," Lawrence said.
"A good consultant could help us appraise the property and help us figuring out the value of the property," Lawrence said.
Commissioners would have to vote to hire a consultant at this point in the process. A motion is scheduled for discussion at the upcoming Sept. 14 meeting.
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