Residents concerned about future of Prague hospital

PRAGUE, Okla. (KOKH) — Residents are concerned the Prague hospital could be closing after the mayor said it's behind on its lease payments and employees were not paid on time.

Loretta Woolley said the hospital has been important to her. She said she recently took her aunt there after she suffered a heart attack.

"I took her to the emergency room," Woolley said. "There happened to be a really good doctor that was on call and he sent her to the heart hospital in Oklahoma City."

Woolley said she's concerned after the hospital's employees weren't paid on time last Friday. She said she's worried about how the hospital is doing financially.

"It's going somewhere because the hospital stays pretty full and the doctor's offices are there so that brings in money too," Woolley said.

Mayor Cliff Bryant said the city has had trouble with the hospital for some time. He said the hospital has been behind on its lease payments for the last year.

Representatives from the hospital said it plans to stay open but confirms payroll was delayed until the middle of this week.

Bryant said he's concerned the hospital will stay open too, something Woolley also said.

"That it will go away," Woolley said. "That we won't have anything."

She said it means a lot to this community.

"Very essential," Woolley said. "We are a small town. When there's emergencies, they'd have to come from Shawnee probably."

There is an emergency city council meeting scheduled to discuss the future of the hospital on Tuesday.