Ritzville hospital has 'righted the ship' following 2025 closure threat
Amanda Sullender, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
Thu, January 8, 2026 at 10:08 PM EST
2 min read
Jan. 8—A hospital in Ritzville that had been at risk of financial jeopardy plans to continue operating after ending the year "nicely in the black."
Late last year, East Adams Rural Healthcare issued a warning the hospital could close as soon as January 7. Just past that deadline, hospital leaders now say that risk has passed.
"In the fall, we issued a WARN notice indicating the potential risk of closure or bankruptcy on January 7," hospital CEO Todd Nida wrote in a statement. "Since that time, the hospital experienced strong financial performance in November and December, which has significantly improved our position. As a result, EARH is no longer at immediate risk of closing on Jan. 7."
Hospital Board chair Eric Walker said the hospital ended 2025 "nicely in the black."
"We seem to have righted the ship," he said.
At the board's December meeting, interim CFO Viola Babcock said the hospital would end the year with $190,000 in the bank.
The hospital appeared in dire financial straits last year after Babcock uncovered it had lost $14 million since 2020 — losses former administrators had allegedly concealed from the hospital's elected board.
The hospital has since put plans into motion to convert to a rural emergency hospital, a federal designation created in 2023. Under that model, the Ritzville hospital would not be able to provide many inpatient services but could receive greater Medicare reimbursement.
East Adams would be the first Washington hospital to pursue a REH designation, which will require approval from the state to set up rules and operations to oversee a rural emergency hospital.
The hospital board has previously expressed hopes the state Attorney General would sign a 30-day emergency order sometime in January to allow the hospital to begin operating under the new status. Board members reached Tuesday declined to comment on whether such an order was forthcoming.
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