Blount Memorial Hospital has been a fixture in Blount County for decades. Many locals rely on the hospital for Healthcare.

In 2023 the powers that be started discussing how to help the hospital out of the losses incurred during the pandemic. First, they had to determine who owned the hospital.

Then, in Feb. 2024, Blount Memorial Hospital asks for help from Rep. Tim Burchett (R) to "obtain over $4.2 million in disaster assistance tied to the COVID-19 pandemic."

Don't know if they ever received the funding.

Finally, in July. 2024, they, the powers that be, decided to "sell" Blount Memorial Hospital and all its clinics and peripheral offices NOT to Covenant Health or UT Health Systems, but to South Carolina based Prisma Health.

"The decision came down to culture, advisors to the hospital and county said..."

Culture?!?! During the process of trying to help the hospital there were local people saying they did not like the way the other hospital systems in the area were run, or something like that. Look where that got them.

Now, Blount Memorial Hospital is laying off 85 workers come May 1, according to a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Notice filed with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

This does not look good for the South Carolina based Prisma owned Blount Memorial Hospital.

WBIR 10News reached out to the hospital for information on the workers' positions and the reason for the layoffs. As of publication, we have not heard back.

It has been mentioned to me by local Blount County residents who use the Blount Memorial facilities that several, if not a lot, of doctors have left Prisma/Blount Memorial. It has also been mentioned to me by those same residents that Prisma/Blount Memorial has changed how prescription renewals are handled.

UPDATE from WBIR: Prisma Health Blount Memorial Hospital is contracting its Food and Nutrition Services and Environmental Services functions to align operations with the broader health system, effective May 1. Prisma Health has partnered with Compass Healthcare organizations for several years—Morrison Healthcare for Food and Nutrition Services since 2021 and Crothall Healthcare for Environmental Services since 2023.

The vast majority of team members involved with this change have already completed the initial onboarding steps to become Compass Healthcare employees and will remain part of the Blount Memorial team.

Let's hope there "vast majority" is real and the employees are satisfied.