Lawrence Medical Center to end inpatient care, expand outpatient services

Lawrence Medical Center (LMC) has announced a major shift in its healthcare services, partnering with Huntsville Hospital Health System (HH Health) to modernize outpatient care in Lawrence County. The decision, made by the LMC Board, comes as rural hospitals across Alabama face increasing financial challenges.

Under the new plan, LMC will cease inpatient care and close its emergency department while focusing on expanding outpatient facilities. LMC Board Chairman Gary Terry emphasized that this move is necessary for the future of healthcare in the community.

“This is the best path forward to ensure that the people of Lawrence County continue to have availability of healthcare in our community,” Terry said. “The care LMC provides today is overwhelmingly outpatient. Over 99% of our encounters each year are outpatient services such as primary care, imaging, lab testing, urgent care, and physical therapy. On the other hand, having less than 1% of our total volume as inpatient care has placed the hospital in a situation that is not sustainable.”

LMC, originally constructed in 1953 and licensed as a 98-bed facility, served over 60,000 outpatient and clinic visits last year. The board determined that maintaining an outdated hospital building that serves fewer than five inpatients daily is financially unviable.

“In order to maintain our license as an acute care hospital, significant resources are required to maintain an outdated facility that serves fewer than five inpatients each day,” Terry stated. “The Board has concluded that all resources must be refocused on expanding high-quality outpatient care.”

To facilitate the transition, LMC will enter into a 40-year lease agreement with HH Health, shifting financial accountability and operational control to the Huntsville-based health system while maintaining local involvement. According to HH Health President and CEO Jeff Samz, this structure has been successfully implemented in several other Alabama counties, including Colbert, Jackson, Morgan, Limestone, and Marshall.

“We are committing to help the Lawrence County Health Care Authority in finding a workable path. The crisis in rural healthcare in Alabama is a well-known fact. There is no easy solution,” Samz said. “I applaud the LMC Board for making a hard decision. Building new outpatient facilities means many more Lawrence County residents will benefit from this tax support than happens today.”

As part of the plan, local tax resources previously used to support hospital operations will be redirected to fund new outpatient facilities. Once these new facilities are operational, the current hospital building will be vacated. A recent assessment determined that updating the existing structure to meet modern standards would be prohibitively expensive, and HH Health will collaborate with community leaders to determine the best use for the vacated hospital property.

Inpatient and emergency services are expected to end by mid-2025. HH Health plans to enhance urgent care services to accommodate many patients who currently rely on the emergency room. Additionally, any LMC employees impacted by the transition will be offered opportunities elsewhere within the HH Health system.

The agreement ensures that all financial support from Lawrence County will be invested in the new local healthcare operations. HH Health has also pledged to reinvest any excess revenue from services provided in Lawrence County back into local healthcare facilities.