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August 2, 2001
By Jim Mimiaga Construction of a new nursing home on the Southwest Memorial Hospital campus has been delayed because of technicalities and financing hurdles. But plans for a new facility by the management company of the Vista Grande Nursing Home — Continuum Health Resources — are still on track, said Continuum President Steve Briscoe, although more time is needed to secure financing. "It would be nice to have a little more time to make sure we do it right," Briscoe said Wednesday. "Constructing these buildings is a big job and involves a lot of planning." Under a management lease with the district, Continuum is obligated to construct a new nursing home on land designated by the district board and hospital management company, Southwest Health System. In May, district representatives along with Briscoe and SHS representatives toured a site on the southwest corner of the hospital campus, agreeing it was an acceptable location for the new home. That supposedly triggered a 90-day time-clock for groundbreaking by Continuum, which would have run out Aug. 5. The district board has said that missing the deadline could be considered a breach of the lease agreement. But in a July 19 letter to Montezuma County Hospital District attorney Kelly McCabe, Continuum attorney John Houtchens stated that Continuum development "is totally stymied at this time," because the district has "not yet agreed to an acceptable site designation." "That’s news to me," said MCHD board chair Randy Smith. "I believe that we definitely all agreed on a site that was acceptable. It was not a problem where they wanted to build, and we clearly communicated that to them." The technicality may have resulted from SHS, but not the district specifically, signing off on the site plat. A site was initially designated by the district for the northwest corner, but it was changed at Continuum’s request. "It appears they need more time with this tactic, and we want to work with them in a positive manner," McCabe said. Relations between the district and Continuum have been at times strained by extensive lease negotiations over issues such as quality-care enforcement and financing. In June, the MCHD board rejected a financing plan proposed by Continuum because the Housing and Urban Development package Continuum was seeking required that taxpayer land be put up as collateral in case of default. The board said it could not risk putting taxpayer assets in the hands of a private company. That forced Continuum to look elsewhere for funding, which it is doing, Briscoe said. "Since the HUD loan was rejected, we will fund it with a conventional loan and we are moving forward with several options," he said. "We’re very excited about the location and the project." Briscoe explained that the district needs to officially designate the site so that survey work needed by architects can begin. A new site-designation date would give Continuum an additional 90-day period to begin construction. Southwest Memorial CEO Bob Peterson said the delay is affecting hospital expansion plans. Southwest wants to expand into the current Vista Grande facility, which is connected to the hospital, when the new nursing home is built. Peterson said the administration and radiology departments were to move into the space in order to make room for an expanded outpatient-care department in the main building. "We wish we could plan to move in there for sure but we can’t wait any longer, so we are going to move ahead with what we can right away, because the outpatient-care expansion is critical for us now," Peterson said. Without a definite timetable for the Vista Grande building’s availability, Peterson said that capital-improvement plans had to be modified. For instance, the administration will now move into modulars set up behind the hospital. How the district board will respond to Continuum’s assertion that a construction site has not been designated will be revealed at its meeting Aug. 8. |
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