Lawrence Medical Center to close Emergency Department on May 23; HH Health to assume responsibility for outpatient services
Wednesday, 30 April 2025
Lawrence Medical Center in Moulton will shut down its Emergency Department at 7 p.m. on May 23, 2025, as Huntsville Hospital Health System assumes responsibility to provide outpatient services in Lawrence County.
According to the announcement from both organizations, outpatient imaging, EKG, lab, respiratory, and physical therapy services will continue to be provided at the facility. Lawrence’s Primary Care Clinics and Urgent Care Center also remain open for patient care.
Lawrence board chairman, Gary Terry, said, “HH Health will lead Lawrence Medical Center in a new direction as we focus our resources on expanding high-quality outpatient care.”
Terry said that the decision on closing the emergency department was inevitable, given the financial and staffing challenges that exist. “It is simply not sustainable,” he said. LMC ceased inpatient operations in February.
Jeff Samz, CEO and President of Huntsville Hospital Health System, said that LMC and HH Health have finalized a forty-year lease agreement which shifts financial accountability and operational control to HH Health. Local tax resources that are currently consumed to support hospital operations will be used to create a building fund to build a new and modern outpatient facility.
“In time, we believe that building new outpatient facilities will benefit the residents of Lawrence County much more than the situation today,” said Samz.
LMC employees in good standing who are impacted by the closure of emergency services will be offered opportunities elsewhere in the HH Health System.
Terry emphasized that the local community “can still rely on Lawrence Medical Center for outpatient services at the current hospital campus and in LMC’s clinics. Our staff is dedicated, loyal and wants to continue to serve you,” he said.
Terry added that some of LMC’s ER physicians would work shifts at Lawrence’s Urgent Care on Highway 157 in Moulton.
