Dr. Marcia Pugh, GCHS Administrator, receives donation from Sheriff Benison
Eutaw, AL – Greene County Health System received a $251,266.72 donation from
Greene County Sheriff Johnathan “Joe” Benison, the health system announced
Wednesday, April 17, 2024. According to Dr. Marcia Pugh, CEO, the donation is one
of the most significant gifts given to the hospital.
Greene County Hospital (GCH), like other rural facilities, is indebted and struggles to
pay its bills monthly. Dr. Marcia Pugh, CEO, stated that “March and April have been
extremely financially devastating for GCH. Thanks to Sheriff Benison’s donation, we
were able to meet our obligations by providing funding for the hospital, nursing home,
and rural health clinic.”
“We are profoundly grateful for the Sheriff’s tremendous generosity and unwavering
commitment to our organization and community,” said Dr. Marcia Pugh, Chief
Executive Officer of Greene County Health System. “This remarkable donation will
enable us to further provide exceptional healthcare, ultimately enhancing the well-
being of our patients and the communities we serve.”
These funds came from electronic bingo distributions that the Sheriff is collecting from licensed electronic bingo establishments in Greene County. “We are pleased that the Sheriff has made these funds available to the Greene County Health System but we are concerned that he has suspended regular monthly distributions of bingo funds, since May 2023, which has financially affected the school system, municipalities and other recipients of funding, under his prior rules,” said John Zippert, Chair of the Board of the Greene County Health System.
The future of electronic bingo in Greene County is clouded by an on-going lawsuit by the State Attorney General to close the bingo facilities for conducting illegal gambling.
The uncertainty is compounded by actions in the Alabama State Legislature to establish a lottery and designated casinos, around the state, paying taxes to the state to be used for educational and other purposes. The Alabama House and Senate have passed widely differing versions of the gambling legislation, and there may not be time in this legislative session to reconcile these differences.