On Friday, Southwest Atlanta Hospital closed its doors for what was the third time in just four years, though this time the closing is likely permanent.

At the time of its opening in 1964, the historic facility was one of the just a small handful of facilities owned run by African-Americans. The majority of its patients were uninsured, underinsured or publicly insured (Medicaid, Medicare) patients, a patient mix that has low repayment rates, a factor that led to its two previous bankruptcy filings.

Southwest has operated as an urgent care center after closing its emergency room earlier this year. Only 50 employees were still on the payroll at the time the 20-bed facility closed, a number reduced from 125 beds before its last bankruptcy.

In May 2008, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on the facility’s many problems.

This is a hospital as a ghost town.

The doors are open, doctors and nurses stand at their stations, but there are virtually no patients in the rooms, and the halls and intensive care units are silent.

Its owner – Georgia Medical Provider Financial Corporation – said the current economic atmosphere led to the hospital’s demise. Georgia Medical Provider purchased the hospital after its previous owners, Southwest Doctors Group, declared bankruptcy.

“We’re operating in an economic environment that’s unlike any this nation has seen in recent memory,” said Sandra Crayton, Southwest’s chief executive, in a statement, as published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We simply could not obtain the credit we needed to stay on the path of rebuilding Southwest Hospital.”

Crayton said Georgia Medical Provider hasn’t given up on the hospital, and may possibly seek funding when the current credit atmosphere improves.