PA Hospital Surrenders License

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A tiny Pennsylvania hospital specializing in bariatric surgery has closed its doors and surrendered its license to state health officials.
Once part of a nationwide chain, the Bucks County 23 bed facility was part of Barix Clinics. The only remaining facility is located in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
Known as the Forest Health Medical Center, the Pennsylvania facility has been the subject of critical inspection reports by state Health Department surveyors. In one recent report surveyors noted the facility had gone 150 days without a single patient.
The latest report on the Langhorne clinic is the notation that the facility "relinquished" its certificate of licensure.
A closure inspection was completed on June 19.
Several deficiencies had been cited when the facility underwent a Medicare re-certification in 2018. The Barix company signed a settlement agreement with the federal government in 2013 after investigators found that two HIV positive patients had their surgeries canceled when the test results came in.
The Bucks County hospital has posted a notice on its web site blaming the closure on the refusal of insurance companies to provide adequate patient coverage
"Over the past 15 years, insurance reimbursement to small specialty hospitals has declined significantly. After several years of losses we chose to close rather than drastically cut costs and compromise our unwavering commitment to providing the best patient care. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause," the notice states.
Following the critical inspection report the hospital did not file a plan of correction acceptable to the state.
"The facility failed to function as a hospital," the report states, noting that the average daily census ranged from 1.2 to 3.3 patients.
The building at 289 Middletown Boulevard in Langhorne has been sold to Capital Health Primary Care.
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