Jun. 26, 2005
By JUDY SHERARD
Hays Daily News
PLAINVILLE — Construction of a new facility for the Rooks County Health Center is a step closer to reality.
The project has passed the preapplication process for HUD approval, Ben Quinton, health center administrator/CEO said Friday.
HUD representatives visited the facility in February, and were so impressed they cut the meeting short to get out and talk to community members.
Final approval for the project could come early next year.
In the meantime the board of directors is working with an architect on preliminary drawings for the complex to be built north of town. Input for the conceptual design also will come from medical staff, department heads and members of the community, said Quinton, who's in his third year as administrator.
The process also includes a financial study. The HUD review will take five or six months; then it will be reviewed by an outside auditor. Even though HUD isn't a lender (it provides mortgage insurance), HUD wouldn't approve the project if the venture wasn't possible.
“We have found a lender in Atlanta for the funding of the new facility. They feel confident in the ability to repay the loan,” Quinton said.
Quinton said the county needs a new health center for three reasons:
The current facility, which opened in 1955, is outdated, and health care needs have changed.
Because the building, on the west edge of town, is landlocked with residences surrounding it, expansion is impossible.
Finally, it's in a poor location for transports to other facilities.
However, hospital services have expanded to meet some of the current needs. Current services include obstetric, diagnostic testing and imaging, lab, cardiac rehabilitation, gall bladder surgery and echo cardiograms. A CT scanner with high resolution processing 12 slices per second and outpatient physical therapy were added last year.
There is a full-time ultrasound technician, one of the few in the area trained in vascular and cardiology ultrasound, Quinton said.
There are three physicians on the local medical staff and three extenders. Though not all see patients routinely, about 35 other physicians have privileges there.
Average patient census is five to seven, but two or three times a year it reaches 15 to 18, he said.
From Jan. 1 to May 30, emergency room visits increased by 41 from last year. The number of surgeries has also increased, and the number of CT scans has tripled.
“Just about everywhere you look, we've done more,” Quinton said.
A recently installed computer system allows nurses to have information at patients' bedsides through laptop computers on carts. A number of other services, pharmacy, lab, radiology and medical records also have been computerized with most of the money coming from the operating budget.
Staff numbers have grown as well to 80 full-time staff in 2004, compared to 63 in 2000.
“We need a modern facility to retain and recruit physicians and people who work in health care,” Quinton said.
The proposal to build a new facility hasn't been without critics, and Quinton said the board is addressing those concerns. Stan Unruh, former Hays Medical Center vice president for communication, has been hired to help with public relations. Unruh, Quinton and board members have been meeting with the public and civic organizations to talk about the new facility.
“It's gaining more support,” Quinton said.
Board minutes also are provided to the Plainville and Stockton papers for publication. It must be generating more interest. Board elections last month drew 423 votes compared to the usual average of 50, he said.
According to the annual board report presented last month, operating revenue in 2004 was $5,838,659 and operating expenses were $5,486,745. The total increase in net assets was $848,567. Property taxes contributed $547,648.
Charity care cost the center $25,736 in 2004 compared to $25,084 in 2003. A total of $229,007 was written off as bad debts compared to $142,534 the previous year.
The medical facility also owns Main Street Terrace, an independent living complex. Quinton said occupancy remains high, but the complex is for sale.
Reporter Judy Sherard can be reached at (785) 628-1081, ext. 138, or by e-mail at
jsherard@dailynews.net.