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As before, I am writing this on behalf of the Board, management, physicians, staff and volunteers of our hospital district. As an organization, we have seen the healthcare industry experience significant and dramatic change. Our industry is moving from a singular focus on sickness to a broader emphasis on health. To use the current catch phrase, we have been moving from “volume to value”. We will always be in the “sickness” business but we will also work to help people get healthy, stay healthy and manage chronic health conditions. Small, independent hospitals like ours are finding it extremely difficult to make the changes required without being part of a significantly larger organization. With this understanding and after much deliberation, the Hopkins County Hospital District Board determined that it was in the best interest of the community to seek affiliation/partnership opportunities.
In order to insure that the District and the community achieve the very best outcome possible, information about the partnering process has been treated in a most confidential manner. An unfortunate consequence of confidentiality is that some incorrect information and/or misconceptions have arisen to fill the knowledge gap.
One misconception is that the hospital will be sold. None of the partnership potentials include an outright sale.
Another misconception is that once the District has a partner, the need for tax support goes away. Continued tax support is absolutely necessary. Taxes pay for indigent care and the debt obligation (bonds) owed by the District for the major construction and renovation completed in 2010. All this being said, it is also important for taxpayers to understand that hospital taxes cannot be increased in the future without voter approval.
Much time and effort has gone into this process by Board members, members of the medical staff and the management team. Our focus from the beginning is to make sure the citizens of Hopkins County continue to have access to appropriate, high quality healthcare services for generations to come. We believe we will achieve that goal once our process is completed. We hope to accomplish that by the end of September.
Michael McAndrew
HCMH CEO
