Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The long arduous task of determining the future of Martin General Hospital continues to move forward. Following a state-mandated public hearing on Feb. 12 regarding the sales or lease of Martin General Hospital, the county has begun soliciting bids from interested parties.

“Early on in this process, the consulting firm Ascendient was brought in to work with the county with regards to this matter,” said Joe Ayers, chair of the Martin County Board of Commissioners. “To date, the county has received several inquiries from interested providers. On Feb. 13, Dawn Carter, senior partner with Ascendient, sent out a dozen requests for proposals (RFPs). By law, we were required to reach out to at least five.” 

No other details were made available, regarding the time frame for a decision.

Martin General Hospital has been closed since the middle of 2023, when Williamston Hospital Corporation, which managed the facility, filed for bankruptcy. As the waiting game continues, the county continues to navigate its way through the loss of the hospital.

“I would say the number one hardship right now is that there is nowhere in Martin County for our rescue squads to take patients,” said Ayers. “They have to take patients out of the county, which takes a lot of time and money. Martin County has overwhelmed the emergency room over in Bertie County. Most emergency calls come from the Williamston area, so the Bertie County emergency room is the closest. But patients have also been transported to Washington and Tarboro. Our end goal is to get a provider in here to start servicing the citizens of our community once again.”