MEADVILLE (AP) — Supervisors have agreed to lease Franklin County Memorial Hospital to a larger hospital or management corporation.

The deadline for proposals to the board of supervisors is Feb. 20.

FCMH administrator and Meadville Mayor Sonny Dickey said supervisors acted because they were unsure if the hospital would survive much longer on its own.

Dickey says the hospital has suffered alongside similar rural hospitals in a bad economy with lower-than-ever patient volumes, complicated by Medicaid reimbursements that are sometimes untimely.

Last year, FCMH laid off some workers and reduced hours for others after Medicaid reimbursements were months late. Dickey says hospital sees 88 percent Medicaid recipients.

Dickey says a lease agreement would place FCMH under the financial umbrella of a larger hospital or a management company.