September 5, 2024 |
Photo – Emergency Room entrance to MHCC – Bigfoot99 file photo
Memorial Hospital of Carbon County officials continue to stress the necessity of a hospital district.
On August 6th, the board of county commissioners voted to allow the creation of a taxpayer-funded hospital district to be included on November’s general election ballot.
During Tuesday’s Rawlins city council meeting, MHCC Strategic Operations Director Stephanie Hinkle said that the proposed hospital district will include Rawlins, Sinclair, Hanna, and certain unincorporated areas of Carbon County. Hinkle explained why the Platte Valley, Little Snake River Valley, and Medicine Bow were excluded from the district.
Hinkle said the proposed hospital district will be funded through a 3 mill property tax levy. However, Hinkle said the district may request up to a 6 mill levy in the future. Using last year’s property tax assessments, the hospital district is expected to bring in an estimated $1.5 million a year.
Where will the additional money go? Hinkle said the funding will help maintain the aging building and purchase new medical devices.
Hinkle said Carbon County owns the current Memorial Hospital building, which was constructed in 1972. The amount of money set aside by county commissioners for maintenance isn’t enough, said Hinkle.
Hinkle said Memorial Hospital is providing a tax calculator to help residents determine the cost of the hospital district. The strategic operations director acknowledged that no one wants to pay higher taxes. However, Hinkle emphasized that the relatively low cost of keeping the hospital operational is justified.
Hinkle said if the hospital district is approved by voters in November, the existing hospital board of trustees will be dissolved.
If the measure is approved with November’s vote, five new board members will be elected from the eight candidates who filed before the August 26th deadline.
Current Memorial Hospital of Carbon County Board of Trustees members Rod Waeckerlin and Mark Kostovny are running against Dr. Stephanie Chiu and Vanessa Petersen for two four-year seats on the proposed hospital district board. Current board members Jerry Steele and Garry Goergen are running against Mike Lujan and David Gier for three two-years seats.
Hinkle said that without a local hospital, businesses and families are less likely to come to Carbon County. She asked residents to put aside their personal feelings about Memorial Hospital and do what’s best for the entire county.
Starting next week, Memorial Hospital of Carbon County will hold three public educational meetings about the proposed hospital district. The first meeting will be on Thursday, September 12th, at the HEM High School in Hanna. The following week, on September 19th, MHCC representatives will be at the Carbon County Fairgrounds Multiplex in Rawlins. Finally, on Thursday, September 26th, MHCC will hold the final community forum in the Sinclair Baptist Church. All meetings are scheduled from 6:00 to 7:00 pm.
