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Hospital bond election on Tuesday
Voters will go to the polls next Tuesday, May 22, to decide the fate of a $23.5 million bond proposal that would finance a major expansion and renovation of Elmore Medical Center, and undecided voters will hold the key to this election.
If approved, the measure would increase the monthly property tax payment on a $100,000 home (with typical exemptions), by $5.68 per month.
A previous attempt to pass a similar bond resulted in a 53 percent approval by the voters in August 2006, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass a general obligation bond, but that issue had suffered from several problems that were avoided in the new proposal going to the voters Tuesday.
A poll conducted several weeks ago by Greg Smith and Associates of Boise showed 59 percent of likely voters indicating approval of the bond, 24 percent against, and 17 percent undecided. To win approval the hospital district would need to have half the undecided voters cast "Yes" ballots in next Tuesday's election.
Greg Smith, president of the marketing firm that conducted the survey, said his survey showed that two-thirds of area residents were satisfied with current levels of service at the hospital, and a strong majority agreed that improvements in hospital facilities would be helpful in the long run to deal with growth in the area.
Faced with an aging 50-year-old hospital building that was built before the invention of computers and many modern healthcare technologies, retrofitting the current building to accommodate new equipment has become an ever-increasing maintenance problem, hospital officials contend.
The current square footage in the building is insufficient to allow for expansion of patient services needed in the community, they said.
"Clearly we have outgrown the current hospital and additional space is needed to keep up with modern technology, add new services and continue to provide quality primary care close to those who need it" said Hospital Board chairman Dr. John Bideganeta.
With more than 1,000 new homes being developed in and around Mountain Home in the last 18 months, and projections showing that growth is not likely to slow down in the near future, the demands for local healthcare are certain to increase, they noted.
"The expansion of Elmore Medical Center will provide the capability to accommodate growing healthcare needs of the county," the hospital board of trustees said in a prepared statement.
Under the proposed expansion plan, the emergency room will have three times the current number of beds with six patient bays, a separate in-take and triage area and easy access from the street.
Radiology and Laboratory departments will be expanded to accommodate new technology and increase patient privacy, including a room that will fit a new CT scanner.
The outpatient services department space will increase to allow for additional services and provide improved patient care areas.
Acute care areas will have 25 private inpatient rooms, "increasing patient comfort, reducing stress, eliminating roommate concerns and allowing for increased patient privacy," the board said.
The15-bed long-term care unit (LTCU-Nursing Home) will be a wing of the hospital, providing all private rooms with larger bathrooms able to accommodate residents with limited mobility.
If the bond is approved, the number of residents in the LTCU would be temporarily decreased during construction to only eight patients required skilled care, and three "swing" beds. Hospital spokesperson Doreen Krabbenhoft said the hospital would work individually with any affected family to develop care plans and make arrangements with other service providers to ensure nursing home patients were properly taken care of.
"We're not going to be turning anybody out on the streets," she said. Those arrangements would be needed only during the construction phase, and the hospital also would be making sure that nursing home staff would be kept on board by temporarily assigning them other duties at the hospital.
Once construction begins it is expected to take 18-24 months for all the proposed renovations and expansions to be completed.
As part of the plan the specialty clinic will be moved into the current hospital inpatient area. Patients needing specialty services will have improved access to other hospital services such as lab and radiology.
Other areas of the existing building will be used to accommodate support services including the Business Office, Health Information Management, Dietary, Environmental Services, Information Technology, Administration and meeting rooms.
Cost estimates for the hospital expansion increased from the prior estimate of over $17 million in October 2005, due to rising construction costs and changes made to the proposed floor plan.
Additional project costs were added to increase the number of inpatient rooms from 20 to 25.
"Community members and staff expressed concerns that more beds were needed," said hospital administrator, Greg Maurer. "It is important that we are responsive to the needs of the community and the plan was adjusted appropriately."