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Health Clinic Closed in Waymart

The health care company that has decided to close Marian Community Hospital in Carbondale has closed another clinic in Wayne County. The problem is patients cou...

The health care company that has decided to close Marian Community Hospital in Carbondale has closed another clinic in Wayne County.

The problem is patients could not get their records Monday from that closed clinic.

Maxis Health Systems owns Marian Community Hospital in Carbondale and the Family Medical Center in Waymart. The company told patients the Waymart clinic would close at the end of this week, but when patients showed up Monday morning to pick up their medical records the doors were locked.

Confusion followed the sudden closure of the Family Medical Center in Waymart. More than a dozen patients waited outside the clinic Monday morning looking for answers since the staff was gone and the doors were locked.

"I mean, I'm outraged how, without a legal time limit, can they just shut the door when they send you a letter saying they're even going to be here another week," said Anita Thompson of Waymart.

Most of the patients had received a letter saying they had a week to pick up their medical records, but the clinic seemed to have closed early and Maxis Health officials would not hand over the medical records.

"I came over here this morning with the rest of the people trying to get our personal records. Some man came out and said he was the director of activities and he was passing the buck big time on everyone else in there," said Betty Howard of Waymart.

"I need to find out where my medications are, where I can see my doctor. I have nothing," added patient Christine Rose.

Maxis Health officials said the medical center staff resigned over the weekend so the they were not prepared to help patients Monday morning.

They will forward records Endless Mountain Medical Center in Clifford, another Maxis-owned clinic, or patients can request copies from Marian Community Hospital in Carbondale.

The doctor who worked out of the Waymart clinic said he will see the patients at another practice, which calmed some fears, but patients said they are still frustrated by how little notice they were given.

"We were assured that we would still be able to see Doctor Haley fairly close, so I'm happy about that but not happy about how Marian Community did business here," said Michael Torquati of Waymart.

Newswatch 16 learned late Monday afternoon that the Family Medical Center in Waymart will not be closed for long. Commonwealth Health System plans to reopen the facility, but there is no definite word when.

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