Springfield Hospital officials yesterday told Vermont state regulators that they aim to file a plan to exit chapter 11 bankruptcy within 60 days, and to execute that plan by the end of the calendar year, Valley News reported. The plan, which will require the approval of the bankruptcy judge, would separate financially the 25-bed hospital in southern Windsor County, Vt., and Springfield Medical Care Systems, the federally qualified health center which also includes community health centers in Charlestown and the Vermont communities of Chester, Ludlow, Bellows Falls, Londonderry and Springfield. Achieving a sustainable future relies on continuing to keep hospital expenses to a minimum, an effort Halstead said he and others at Springfield Hospital have worked to do since the hospital’s large debt came into the spotlight in late 2018 and since it entered bankruptcy in June of 2019. It also relies on patients returning to the hospital for treatment at pre-COVID-19 rates by Oct. 1 and on a successful exit from bankruptcy with sufficient cash on hand to continue operations, he said. As of June 30, Springfield had 56 days of cash on hand.
