WILLIAMSTON, N.C. (WNCT) — Officials with Ascendient, a healthcare consulting firm, gave an update during Wednesday night’s Martin County commissioners meeting on finding a provider for Martin General Hospital. They are also giving steps to get long-term health care back to the county.

“I get the burden that the closure of this hospital is on EMS and on you all as a community,” Dawn Carter with Ascendient said.

Carter also said the judge gave the county control over the hospital from the bankruptcy trustee, who had control over the lease for Quorum.

“The good news is he has since filed a motion to reject that lease, which means essentially the ability to do something with that lease and when a new operator comes back to the county,” Carter added.

Now that the county has had control over the hospital, the equipment that is still in the hospital has to be accounted for.

“All that equipment, all those things that are in the hospital, other people, other organizations have ownership of that equipment,” Carter said. “That is part of the process that is underway, is determining who is in charge of that equipment whether that’s part of the bankruptcy, whether that will get abandoned to the county we don’t know yet.”

Ascendient is currently evaluating short-term and long-term healthcare options they can find.

“We’re exploring opportunities for additional funding, additional capital and again finding new operators a new operator and a search for as many as we can to enter into that process,” Carter said.

Carter says that process could take months to do.