First State Bank of the Southeast is the winning bidder in the Pineville Community Hospital auction and will take over all assets.

First State Bank and fellow lender Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation voluntarily agreed to permit $800,000 in liens to be placed ahead of their own liens in order to keep the hospital operating.

The sale is not yet closed. Formalities will be observed with the bankruptcy court in the upcoming weeks.

First State Bank of the Southeast released a statement to WRIL on the progress and plans for Pineville Community Hospital and it reads as follows:

“First State Bank of the Southeast, with nine branch offices in Pineville, Middlesboro, Williamsburg, Lexington and New Tazewell, Tenn. has placed the winning bid for all assets of Pineville Community Hospital. The closing of the sale will take place over the next weeks as formalities are observed with the bankruptcy court.

First State has a long history of acting as a lender to the hospital and has closely monitored developments as the hospital suffered a decline in recent years and ultimately filed for bankruptcy protection. Following that filing, First State has been on the forefront of financial negotiations to help supply capital needs to keep the hospital open. During that process, both First State, and fellow lender Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation, voluntarily agreed to permit $800,000 in liens to be placed ahead of their own liens in order to keep the hospital operating.”

According to the statement, First State’s CEO Katherine Reese and her team have worked tirelessly throughout the bankruptcy process to help preserve the hospital as an integral part of the community.

“Katherine would like to thank Pineville Mayor Scott Madon for his steadfast commitment to seeing this transition through to assure the viability of the hospital. First State is excited to take on the challenge of operating a health care facility in Pineville and is already taking steps to put together an experienced and respected team to manage day to day operations of the hospital and to create a positive, fiscally responsible and service-oriented culture which will assure the hospital’s existence for decades to come,” the statement reads.

More information on this developing story will be made available as they are released.