In less than a week, Oktibbeha residents will vote on a $27.5 million bond issue to fund renovations at Oktibbeha County Hospital.
My questions and reservations:
OCH has touted the fact that they have never asked for a bond issue from the community to fund the hospital before. Why start now, especially with tax raises in almost every other sector- city, county and schools- not to mention the recent TVA rate hike? Can the $27.5 million in construction not be funded from hospital revenues?
The problem of payee reimbursements- and the decrease thereof- has been mentioned as a problem for OCH in their promotional DVD. Does this renovation address that problem? Are there any new revenue centers in the project?
Which leads to a bigger question- is the community hospital model outdated and ineffective? OCH is one of the last community hospitals in the region (according to them). Is that a good thing? If the business model is so beneficial why aren’t more following it? Does the county belong in the hospital business?
OCH does provide quality services to a wide area. Under the current proposal Oktibbeha residents will bear the cost of the project. Will OCH impose some sort of surcharge to non county residents so they will help pay for the project? Will Oktibbeha county residents receive a discount for services to balance the unequal taxation?
At this time, this bond issue doesn’t make sense. Starkville and Oktibbeha residents have already experienced an increase in the cost of living here. The economy is still uncertain. A $27.5 million facelit that doesn’t provide a net gain in rooms or provide new revenue to the hospital is a luxury we can’t afford.
Recent comments