Is the Pungo Hospital Closing Just the tip of the iceberg? | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Vidant wasted no time padlocking the front door of Pungo District Hospital and covering up the signage around the building. This 9 month scourge of bad publicity couldn't end soon enough. Vidant's "ODC" (Office of Damage Control) has gone to great lengths to create diversionary tactics, denying any connection or financial support to the private corporation Pantego Creek, LLC. created at the time Vidant acquired Pungo Hospital in 2011.

    The 2011 Agreement and Plan of Change of Control between the 3 parties: UHS (now Vidant), Pantego Creek, LLC. and Pungo District Hospital Corp. stipulated that Pantego Creek would receive $50,000 at closing in order to fulfill its duties to oversee the enforcement of this Agreement. Up to an additional $10,000 was available to reimburse Pantego Creek for expenses to file for and obtain tax exempt status under IRS 501(c)(3) by September 28, 2012.

    This situation could only be likened to putting a fox in charge of the hen house. Pantego Creek did not meet the tax exempt deadline and faces loss of the remaining amount paid to it. Dr. Charles Boyette (former Pungo Medical Director) has been quite critical of contract breaches ignored by Pantego Creek, LLC.

    Pantego Creek's trust in Vidant set Pungo Hospital up for failure. In addition the Vidant executive in charge of everyday administration was only there one-half day a week. He served Vidant in a dual capacity as President of Pungo Hospital and Beaufort County Hospital. Now we'll see if that one-half day will make a major difference at Beaufort County Hospital.

    In January the NC NAACP filed a civil rights lawsuit with the US Dept. of Justice claiming Vidant was in violation of Title VI. The DOJ assumed that by bringing all 3 parties (NAACP, Town of Belhaven and UHS) to the mediation table an agreement could be worked out. Following a heated couple of days, terms were finalized and the April deadline for closing the hospital was delayed until July 1st.

    Once the Agreement was made public, there was a consensus that the DOJ was unrealistically optimistic considering Vidant's history of circumventing contractual obligations. Neither the NC NAACP nor the Town of Belhaven realized that their good faith efforts were jeopardized by a more informed organization which knew the deadlines could not be met without significant specialized knowledge in the transfer of a Medical Hospital.

    In order to shift the bad publicity they were facing, Vidant decided to protect their image by manipulating their puppet, Pantego Creek into taking the bullet. As a result, Pantego Creek voted against saving the hospital, casting them as the bad guys..

    As the July 1st deadline neared NC NAACP and the town of Belhaven held a Press Conference where a list of Vidant's roadblocks, delays, failure to cooperate and instances of backroom dealings were brought to light Angered by this record of unethical behavior, the public has joined in the demand for an FBI investigation. The US Department of Justice has not dismissed this case. It still has life.

    Promptly at 12:01am on July 1st the doors were locked and the signs were covered in black. The sad event was recorded by local TV stations which have faithfully followed this death of a hospital for the past year– WITN (NBC), WNCT (CBS), WCTI (ABC). All previous reports have been consolidated and are available for viewing on the TV station websites.

    The story of our battles to save our rural hospital has captured the heartbeat of America. MSNBC devoted time on the All in With Chris Hayes show on July 2nd and The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell on June 25th and July 1st. National, State and local print and television continue to follow the story with great interest. National Medical Health Care websites and specialized medical Blogs have logged news references and articles.

    The possibility of a FBI investigation really rattled Vidant's nerves, so much so, the President of Vidant Community Hospitals volunteered to address the call for an FBI investigation.

    On July 1st 6:00 news WNCT-TV (CBS)"9 on your side" reported that Vidant wanted to address the mayor's call for an FBI investigation. Vidant stressed the fact that they have no connection to Pantego Creek LLC, saying:

    "Vidant Health was not involved in the establishment of the LLC, its membership or its board. We are not involved in its choice for independent legal counsel nor do we pay for it."

    If the original written agreement is not sufficient then maybe Vidant needs to listen to an audio contradiction by a respected retired bank executive, Arthur Keeney, who served on both the UHS Board and the Pungo District Hospital Corp. Board at the time of the 2011 negotiations. He is the current Chair of Vidant Board of Trustees (appointed by UNC). On June 18 Mr. Keeney spoke freely to Eric Byler, producer of a documentary titled "Story of America". He described the role Vidant played in setting up Pantego Creek, LLC in 2011 and the role they continue to play today.

    Vidant pays the bills because Pantego Creek has no money. Does it bother anyone that Mr. Keeney is also a member of Pantego Creek, LLC.?

    Confused now? This is just the tip of the iceberg. Indulge and educate yourself. Follow the updates, commentary and videos from the Story of America documentary.

    Pantego Creek did not meet the Feb. 12, 2012 contractual deadline to obtain tax exempt status that was imposed by UHS/Vidant and now faces loss of the amount remaining which is thought to be around $45,000 according to 2013 records.

    The name Vidant is a "BRAND" name. Do Vidant officials really think they can shirk their responsibilities and not be held accountable, simply because the contract is in their former name – UHS? Their legal name continues to be University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina (UHS) whether they like it or not. This is a sad state of affairs for a company to stoop so low, but that's starting to look like Vidant's normal way of doing business.

    Vidant's mission seems to be morphing into saving themselves, rather than saving lives.

    Check out Facebook – Save our Hospital, videos on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_nbfgcdZrE and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFPJI_tQ37yfocaG6kV6CMA

    Battle for Belhaven: To Save or Close a Hospital in rural eastern North Carolina