Haywood Emergency Physicians held a two-hour town hall style meeting Tuesday night to answer questions about the termination of their contract by Haywood Regional Medical Center.

By Becky Johnson • Staff Writer

Community outrage with Haywood Regional Medical Center continues to escalate over a move by hospital administration to oust a long-time group of emergency room doctors.

Emergency room doctors at Haywood Regional Medical Center have been on a collision course with hospital administration since a brand-new $5 million emergency room opened in December 2004.

The Haywood County medical community was expected to voice its disatisfaction Tuesday night with a move by Haywood Regional Medical Center CEO David Rice to oust a long-time group of emergency room physicians and turn over the ER to a corporate physician staffing agency.

Phoenix Emergency Physicians is making progress rounding up a new set of emergency room doctors to work at Haywood Regional Medical Center, according to Chris Lutes, the manager of the corporate physician staffing agency.

The following statement was provided to The Smoky Mountain News following a meeting of the Haywood Regional Medical Center Hospital Authority Board of Commissioners on Monday, Dec. 11.

An ongoing power struggle between Haywood Regional Medical Center CEO David Rice and doctors in the emergency room came to a head last week when the hospital board, at Rice’s recommendation, voted to hand over ER operations to a corporate physician staffing company.

Haywood Regional Medical Center and Haywood Emergency Physicians disagree over whether it was necessary to rewrite the doctors’ contract with the hospital while there is still 18 months left on the agreement.

After a sudden termination of their contract by Haywood Regional Medical Center last week, emergency room doctors say the reputation of hospital CEO David Rice is making it difficult to recruit new doctors to the county.