Rural hospitals are set to lose more than $145 million per month as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the state.

Roxie Wells, president of Cape Fear Valley Hoke Hospital, spoke with lawmakers Tuesday about the problems rural hospitals anticipate in the coming weeks.

“I believe that I and most of my colleagues who lead rural and independent hospitals of various sizes have managed to prepare for the pandemic and the associated anticipated surge that allows us to offer care to those who need it,” Wells said.

But hospitals faced a high cost to prepare for the pandemic that included purchasing lab and cleaning supplies, setting up telehealth capabilities, purchasing masks at $6 more than typical costs, buying respirators and various other needs to combat the virus, she said.

Meanwhile, Wells said, hospitals are losing money by having to cancel elective procedures like sleep studies and colonoscopies. She said hospitals were forced to cancel these elective procedures because of the lack of personal protective equipment and to stop the spread of the virus.

She also said most rural hospitals aren’t run by a larger hospital system that could offset some of these losses.

Wells told lawmakers they could use rural hospitals for these elective procedures and low-level care for COVID-19 patients by transferring those patients out of larger hospitals.

“Rural hospitals have empty beds that can be put to use if we receive the appropriate waivers for payment for care provided to these patients,” Wells said.

“I’m greatly concerned that we’ll see an upward swing in closures if we’re not proactive, decisive and swift in our response to cash flow concerns of these facilities,” Wells said.

She also reminded lawmakers that rural hospitals tend to be the largest employers in counties across North Carolina, and she said that those counties can’t stand the kind of economic loss that would result from closing. Wells said there are currently 49 rural and independent hospitals in North Carolina.

This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 6:38 PM with the headline "Coronavirus could cost NC’s struggling rural hospitals $145 million per month."