By Dewey Terrill
Geary Community Hospital was a key focus during a joint Geary County Commission - area legislative delegation conversation Monday. State representatives Lonnie Clark and Dave Baker along with State Senator Jeff Longbine met with the commission at the County Office Building.
Legislators noted that medicaid expansion approval would help GCH meet its needs, but were not optimistic that would occur in the upcoming session.
Clark said the hospital had a 10-12 year period of bad management. "Prior hospital administrators, I'm not talking about the current ones because the County is involved in it now. But in prior years the hospital administrator made all the calls. The County didn't have any say on what was being spent, how it was being spent or have any oversight over it." Clark added thinks if the County is going to own the building and the property, they need to have some say in some of the issues that it takes to keep the hospital up and running right."
GCH currently faces a need for $28 million in maintenance over a four-year period, and there are also bonds from the most recent expansion that need to be retired as well.
When asked if the legislature could do anything to help on the maintenance bill Clark said he has been trying but it's not something for which there has been a budget so it has to be taken from some other source. "We've worked on it, I've talked to the hospital association about help. Whether or not we can drive a bill through that would actually create revenue for that I don't know yet. " That would have to occur in the next session.
County Commission Chair Trish Giordano believes Town Hall meeting are needed so the public will know the available options. When it comes to fundraising there has been study about possible grant funds, and an option might be to partner with some people. Options are being looked at, but no final action has occurred.