Commissioners, hospital discuss financial support

As 2017 winds down, Chase County Commissioners Dave Hogsett, Chuck Vette and Don Weiss, Jr. met Dec. 26 for their final meeting of the year.

Hospital Financing
    Chase County Community Hospital CEO Steve Lewis and board member John Burke checked in with the board about possible financing options for the hospital.
    As the administrators prepare for the financial feasibility study needed by the USDA to proceed with planning for a new building, Lewis and Burke want to know if county funds will be available and make sure the commissioners “are on board with that.”
    Lewis said early projections estimate, with principal and interest, it will cost about $1 million per year to go through the USDA “for however many years.”
    Burke said the hospital could be requesting money on the tax rolls plus a $20 million dollar loan or bond. He added that he had looked into 30- to 40-year municipal bonds available at 2.75 to three percent as opposed to the USDA loan rate of four percent, if qualified.
    “The bond issue is a lot cleaner,” Burke said. Weiss and Hogsett agreed.
    Without a vote, Chase County Clerk Debbie Clark  said the county can give 3.5 cents, around $580,000, to the  hospital based on this year’s valuations.
    Ten acres of land for the new hospital has been donated for the new site.
    As talk turned to finding a doctor for the hospital, Lewis said he has beefed up the compensation package to entice a doctor to area, but is having trouble finding a family practice physician who is also interested in obstetrics.
    “I can’t imagine this town without a hospital,” Weiss said. Lewis added that the hospital employes 120 people, with 80 full time equivalent employees.
 

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