ADEL — Cook County’s only emergency room will close at the end of February, another victim of economics threatening small-town hospitals.

Cook Medical Center’s ER closes Feb. 28, according to a press release from Tift Regional Medical Center, which will consolidate Cook Medical’s emergency services with its own ER in Tift County.

The Cook Family Wellness Center, 103 James St., will offer extended hours and be open seven days a week for minor medical concerns; patients in need of major medical care will be transferred to the nearest emergency room — which means leaving the county.

Tift Regional plans to extend indigent care funding practices to the clinic. Current Cook Medical ER employees will have “first opportunity” to apply for jobs at the wellness center, according to the press release. 

“Ongoing reductions in reimbursements across the nation have created a risk of closure for one in three rural hospitals nationwide,” said Chris Dorman, Tift Regional’s president and chief operating officer.

About 22 percent of Cook County’s population is uninsured, forcing them to seek routine medical care in the expensive environment of an emergency room, he said.

Many rural hospitals in Georgia are struggling; six have closed entirely, some have shuttered their emergency rooms, while others have merged into larger regional hospitals, such as the former Louis Smith Memorial Hospital in Lakeland, now part of South Georgia Medical Center’s network headquartered in Valdosta.

Dorman said Cook Medical Center has lost approximately $2.6 million annually since 2012, with the emergency room being the main contributor to the financial loss. 

Cook Medical’s ER treats about 10,000 patients annually, said Liza Tillman, public relations coordinator for the hospital.

Cook Family Wellness Center will be open 8:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Friday. and 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Services at the clinic are available to patients 6 months old and older; parents of younger infants are encouraged to form a relationship with a primary pediatrician and either call 911 or head for an emergency room — out of the county — for emergencies, Tillman said.

There are no pediatricians in Cook County, though several work with Tift Regional’s network, she said.