In the latest development in Jackson Hospital’s financial rut, the hospital’s debtor and possession lender has publicly confirmed that the hospital is “out of money.”
City officials have expressed concern about the potential of the hospital closing, as they said it’s a necessary part of treating the capital’s injured.
With Montgomery’s homicide toll for 2025 rising to 52 after a mass shooting in the late hours of Oct. 4 in downtown Montgomery and smaller shooting incidents occurring weekly, the hospital’s possible closure may strain treatment options available in the area.
The situation now
In a Montgomery City Council meeting on Sept. 30, representatives from Jackson Healthcare and Jackson Investment Group presented the hospital’s roadmap of goals over a five-year plan to the city council, but emphasized the dire state of the hospital’s finances. Jackson Healthcare is a company that provides healthcare workforce services that has maintained Jackson Hospital as a client for “12 to 15” years, and Jackson Investment Group is Jackson Hospital’s debtor and possession lender.
Rick Jackson of Jackson Healthcare said that the hospital currently has about $2 million in the bank. With the hospital’s investors increasing their loan, Jackson said that total will allow the hospital to remain open until the end of October, in order to give the hospital time to work out a possible solution with the state, county or city to stay open.
The hospital is currently losing $5 million per month.
“I’m just saying, the hospital runs out of money in October,” Jackson said. “If there’s not a commitment on this, then there is no alternative for this hospital other than to close.”
Jackson said that initially they thought about buying the hospital but came to the conclusion that “turning around” the hospital would take $250 million to $300 million, which he said was an amount of money that there was “no way anybody could justify” spending.
“That’s not a threat, they’re just out of money,” Jackson said. “And that’s something nobody wants, but this is what it is gonna require to [stay open].”
What happens if Jackson Hospital closes?
In light of this information, Montgomery councilmember Andrew Szymanski told WSFA that the hospital is essential to Montgomery.
“We have to have this hospital going forward,” Szymanski said. “It’s the only hospital in the area that is taking in indigent care, and that’s a really important thing to have here in the city of Montgomery.”
Jackson Hospital is not the only hospital in Montgomery that contributes to emergency care for a range of patients. Baptist Health also offers charitable assistance for patients that meet the right criteria. Additionally, both Jackson Hospital and Baptist South are identified as trauma centers, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.
“While Jackson Hospital plays a role in serving indigent populations, it is not the only provider offering this essential care,” said Kadie Agnew, a spokesperson for Baptist Health. “As the region’s largest and leading health system, Baptist Health shares in the responsibility, providing $41.5 Million worth of uncompensated care each year. Anyone who is in the business of healthcare knows indigent care could never be excluded or overlooked.”
Jackson Hospital said that though they cannot share concrete details for safety reasons, they do have a plan in place to address transfer of care in the worst-case scenario that the hospital does close.
“Every hospital must have an Emergency Management Plan, and that plan includes provisions for relocating patients,” the hospital confirmed in a statement. “In the event of closure of any hospital, how that plan gets executed changes given the circumstances. But every hospital has one, including Jackson.”
How did we get here?
Jackson Hospital’s financial dire straits started a little over a year ago. Last September, the hospital defaulted on $60 million in debt, which led to credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings lowering the hospital’s rating to “D,” indicating default. Additionally, CreditWatch removed the hospital’s rating entirely.
Their plan to get back on track was publicly introduced in the month following the initial news of the default and included introducing new CEO Ronald Dreskin and Chief Restructuring Officer Allen Wilen to rework their financing and daily operations in a way that is more efficient.
In January 2025, Dreskin and Wilen lead a rally for support for the hospital, where signs stating “SAVE OUR JOBS” made it clear the situation at the hospital was more dire than it appeared previously.
Dreskin and Wilen and said their plan to move forward with restructuring involved asking the City of Montgomery to give them a guarantee on a $20.5 million loan that they “need to take until a final solution is made, which would be a permanent financial restructuring.”
Dreskin and Wilen said they “are not asking for a dollar of funds from the City of Montgomery” and that this loan they wanted the city to guarantee was just “to get through the next period of time.” Wilen said the likelihood of it ever being called was “very, very, very minute.”
