Starke Hospital, LLC Extends Lease with County

Posted on October 4, 2016
Author Mary Perren, WKVI

Starke County will continue to have a hospital for the foreseeable future. The lease between the county and Starke Hospital’s parent company, Tennessee-based Community Health Systems, expired at midnight on Friday, Sept. 30. Negotiations between the county and CHS over terms of a new lease abruptly ceased on Sept. 19. A deal would have cleared the way for construction of a new hospital on the existing site at the intersection of South Heaton Street and Culver Road in Knox.

Options for CHS included a 10-year extension of the current lease terms or a six-month notice of termination. Hospital officials issued this statement in response to an inquiry from WKVI News.

“After receiving word from county officials on Sept. 20 that they wished to end negotiations on a new lease, Starke Hospital Company, LLC., has extended the current lease for 10 years per the current agreement. We acknowledge that there will now be a delay in building a new hospital in Starke County, but are continuing to explore all options for building the new hospital.”