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Dec. 23, 2000 By Jim Mimiaga The Montezuma County Hospital District board is considering three requests for the use of tax dollars collected every year from its mill levy. To date, the special district has collected $1.3 million, of which $800,000 must be held in reserve under an earlier agreement with the county commissioners. The mill levy brings in approximately $300,000 every year. Mike Guillette, an advocate of bringing a indigent-care clinic to Mancos, has requested $100,000 in assistance from the district. The money would be used to start a low-cost clinic being considered by Valley Wide Health Services. The company runs dozens of successful clinics in southern Colorado in the state’s poorer regions. The board responded that before the funding request could be considered, more information was needed. They requested a budget showing what the money would be used for, and a financial-outlook plan that showed the clinic would be feasible in the long run. "We need to see that after a year it will not fold, if we are to spend money on it," said Susan Keck, MCHD chairperson. Kelly McCabe, MCHD’s attorney, said the board must be careful what it spends the tax dollars on, pointing out a landmark court case involving Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins. In that case PVH had been using tax revenues for non-facility purposes such as outreach education. After a taxpayer challenged the use as illegal, the court agreed, ruling that hospital-district tax revenues could only be spent on improvements involving "facilities." McCabe said that the Mancos clinic proposal appears to fall into that category, thereby making it a legitimate use of tax dollars. But care would need to be taken to show the clear link between the tax monies and medical facilities or equipment in relation to the district. The board said one way to show that was to form a legal organization for the purpose of oversight of the Mancos clinic. Other issues discussed were whether the clinic would refer patients to Southwest Memorial over competing hospitals; whether it would compete with Southwest; and how the physician community and hospital management feel about the proposal. Guillette said he would return with a more complete proposal and budget. Board member Randy Smith suggested using tax money in order to subsidize a desperately needed surgeon at Southwest Memorial. The hospital is down two surgeons, a situation that has left some emergency call shifts uncovered. That in turn has contributed to the lowering of the hospital’s trauma rating from a Level 3 to a Level 4, limiting its customer base. "In my mind another surgeon is our top priority," he said. "We lost our Level 3 status because of the shortage and this is just unacceptable." CEO Bob Peterson said that recruitment efforts are going ahead full steam, and that several qualified candidates are scheduled to visit the hospital soon. Smith queried whether tax dollars could be used to complement surgeon pay as a way to offset the problem of physicians going to bigger, higher-paying hospitals that can pay higher wages. Whether that was permissible was not clear. The third possible use of district funds is to help pay for the new streamlined, outpatient surgery center planned for Southwest Memorial. CEO Bob Peterson said the project would move "fast-track" surgery operations into remodeled space now occupied by administration. Administration offices would then be moved into a modular until the building occupied by the Vista Grande nursing home becomes available. A new one may be built on the hospital campus pending successful lease negotiations. Southwest’s remodel is expected to cost $500,000; it has not been determined how much the district will be asked to pay for. "We’re going to request some funds to help renovate within the hospital," Peterson said. "I think the outpatient surgery center fits best with the MCHD mission because it is a facility and a long-term investment." |
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