Commissioners asked to reconsider marketing of county health center
Washington County Health Center
Faye Scott of Hickory discusses her concerns about a potential sale of the Washington County Health Center with Scott Fergus, Washington County director of administration.
A Hickory resident who described her mother as a “permanent resident” of Washington County Health Center due to a hip fracture asked the commissioners to reconsider the marketing of the facility and asked that voters be able to weigh in on the issue through a referendum.
Faye Scott said during the public comment segment of the commissioners’ meeting Thursday, “I feel if this facility is sold, she might not get the care she’s getting now. It’s been such a wonderful facility for years.”
The health center’s finances were last in the black in 2011, and it has lost more than $9 million in revenue since then. This year’s subsidy of the 288-bed facility could reach $4 million, according to estimates. Approximately 200 county employees work at the health center, most of them members of the Service Employees International Union/Healthcare.
Scott said her familiarity with the health center goes back to a time when her mother-in-law spent four years in the health center’s Alzheimer’s Unit.
“Could this be put on the ballot to vote on instead of you people to decide?” Scott asked the three-member board of commissioners. “Just remember, too, that you could be in the same position. You could be up for re-election. You could be out of a job, too.”
Larry Spahr, Washington County director of elections, was ask to evaluate the tack Scott asked the commissioners to take: Pennsylvania prohibits non-binding referenda to gauge public sentiment, and unless the law contains a mandate concerning referendum on a specific issue, a ballot measure is not a legal avenue, said Referenda are such a limited option because the voters, in choosing county officials, entrust those they elect with fiscal decisions.
Commission Chairman Larry Maggi said after the meeting that if the health center’s annual subsidy was about a half-million dollars, he would find that to be bearable. In 2010, for example, the figure was $347,918. The county’s natural gas and oil leases for extraction beneath county-owned land has been keeping the health center afloat.
Scott also questioned “why this went on for so long for four years and the debt kept increasing. Why did you not meet with the union about where money’s being lost. Don’t you have a controller?”
County Controller Michael Namie, who was not present during public comment, later took issue with Scott’s characterization.
“The responsibility of the county controller’s office is to provide accurate financial data to the board of commissioners so that they may make responsible decisions moving forward. There have been numerous discussions over the last two years, let’s say, with the board of commissioners, the finance department and my department
“The finance department as well as the controller’s office has made it crystal-clear to the board of commissioners that (at) the health center, they’re not in the best place and therefore the commissioners are attempting to make informed decisions based on our information.
“But to imply that the county controller’s office or the finance department has not kept the commissioners apprised of the financial condition of the health center
is completely inaccurate and irresponsible.”
Articles in the Observer-Reporter archive show stories about the health center’s financial difficulties dating back to at least 2004, but profitable years in 2006 through 2009 eased concerns. Last March, the matter was back in the headlines when county hired a certified public accounting firm to analyze the health center’s financial position. The Observer-Reporter broke the story of the health center’s potential sale Nov. 29.
Namie also noted that he files a summary by July 1 of the financial condition of all funds within his jurisdiction, listing them publicly, and audited financial statements.