Voters will decide Nov. 2 whether to increase a countywide sales tax by 1⁄4 of a cent to go toward a new Allen County Hospital.
Members of the Allen County Healthcare Committee address questions about the issue.
Q: If the bond issue is $25 million and there are only 25 beds, isn’t a cost of $1 million per bed quite a lot? What is the actual cost of construction? Who came up with this number, what are their credentials and how were they selected?
A: Part 3 of the Cost of a New Hospital — How was HFG selected?
We learned in parts 1 and 2 that construction cost estimates can be found in The Master Plan Report on Allen County Hospital; that the report was a collaborative effort between the Allen County Commission, Allen County Hospital, the 10 volunteer members of the Allen County Hospital Facilities Commission and Health Facilities Group and its team of experts and that the full report is available on the county website, www.allencounty.org and under the tab for ACH Master Plan Report.
Health Facilities Group (HFG) was selected in a competitive bidding process last winter. The process was covered by local news media at the time, but is worth repeating. A request for proposals was created by Allen County commissioners. Eleven groups responded to the county’s invitation for bids on creating a master plan for Allen County Hospital. Of those 11 firms submitting bids, there were three groups that were asked to make presentations; HFG was one of those making presentations.
Simultaneous to the bid process, commissioners had selected a Hospital Facilities Commission (HFC) of volunteers to assist with the master plan effort for the hospital.
All volunteers were residents of Allen County and an attempt was made to achieve geographic representation as well as balance between men and women and younger and older citizens. Members of the HFC are: Mary Ann Arnott, Robin Betts, Mark Boyd, Don Copley, Barbara Culbertson, Mary Kay Heard, Karen Lee, Dr. Dan Myers, Terry Sparks and David Toland. HFC members joined county commissioners in reviewing the presentations and in selecting HFG to be the group to conduct the master plan effort for Allen County Hospital.
The credentials in medical planning and architecture of HFG cannot be disputed as we learned in part 2, which summarized its activities in healthcare planning and building design. One aspect of its years of experience is the number of projects that have been finished on time and on or under budget. Included in that group of projects are ones for Clay County Medical Center, Comanche County Hospital, Kearny County Hospital, Labette Health, Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital and Wilson Medical Center — all in the last five years.
Only two weeks remain before the election. If you would like to help our voter information effort, write to “Yes Allen County Healthcare,” at A.C.B., Inc, 16 W. Jackson, Iola, KS 66749 or contact the Thrive Allen County office at 365-8128.
Yes! Allen County Healthcare
