It could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Allen County Hospital trustees are open to suggestions for a new name to go with a new hospital. HOSPITAL CONSTRUCTION remains on schedule, reported Sheldon Streeter, project developer with Murray Construction. GLEN BUCHHOLZ, president of Emprise Bank, was appointed by Allen County commissioners to fill the vacancy of Tom Miller, who resigned last fall as a trustee.
Hospital staff and administrators have put forward the names Southeast Kansas Medical Center, Allen County Regional Medical Center, Allen Regional Medical Center and Allen Regional Health Center in addition to retaining the current name.
“But if there are other suggestions out there, we’d like to hear them,” said Harry Lee, chairman of the trustees, at their meeting Tuesday night.
The Register will put the current suggestions up to vote in its weekly opinion poll. Participants can weigh in their thoughts either by calling the Register at 365-2111, or by posting online on the Register’s Facebook page, by emailing steven@iolaregister.com, or on the Register’s front page online edition, iolaregister.com, where the question will be posted Thursday.
“I’d just ask that if you’re wanting a white Christmas, that you postpone your request for a year,” he said, saying the pouring of curbs and pavement is beginning. Next on tap for the massive building is to install the heating and air conditioning systems, as well as individual doors.
Fixing the drainage from the pond to the southeast of the hospital is in order, directing the water to flow to the ditch on the east and away from property owned by Bob Macha. A berm between the two properties will be constructed, Jay Kretzmeier, hospital trustee, reported. The construction of the hospital interfered with the pond’s previous drainage pattern.
Trustees also filed papers to seek public commission bonds of $5 million for operating capital to begin the first of the year when they quit their lease agreement with Hospital Corporation of America and undertake control themselves.
Larry Peterson, hospital chief financial officer, walked through the hospital’s budget with trustees and gave his “best guesses” as to how it will be able to be a successful operation.
The transition to new ownership is “a lot of work,” Peterson said. Added to the effort is learning the electronic medical records system, where patient data is entered by health professionals into an electronic database that can be accessed over the Internet.
Trustees, too, are entering a critical learning stage as they understand how hospitals are reimbursed by the federal Medicaid and Medicare programs, how hospitals write off many costs incurred by the indigent, how insurance reimbursements fall short of actual costs, and how hospitals are a “capital-intensive as well as people-intensive,” enterprise.
“It’s the worst of both worlds,” Peterson said. “We need incredibly expensive machines that need to be replaced every few years, and we have a high volume of employees.”
Nevertheless, Peterson projects the hospital will be a profitable enterprise in a relatively short turnaround period, “at least going by historical data.”
Trustees also approved paying Murray Construction $2,683,804 for the installation of mechanical and electrical equipment at the new hospital.
Trustees next meet next Tuesday.
Hospital open to naming suggestions
