Lewis County, hospital officials discuss possible clinic projects
LOWVILLE Lewis County and hospital officials went behind closed doors Friday morning to discuss the state of potential clinic additions, despite prior billing as a public meeting.
County legislators and members of the Lewis County General Hospital board of managers held a joint meeting in the legislative chambers for the intent of general discussion, according to public notice of the session.
However, the boards immediately moved to enter executive session on the grounds of prospective real estate purchases, where public disclosure might significantly affect value, and legal issues concerning hospital health clinics.
Following a roughly two-hour discussion, they returned to regular session and adjourned the joint meeting with no public discussion.
Legislature Chairman Jack T. Bush, R-Brantingham, when contacted later, said he had met earlier in the week with hospital CEO Eric R. Burch, and it was decided a meeting of the two boards would be in order to discuss specifics on potential clinic projects and their fiscal feasibility.
He admitted that the meeting included discussions on financial issues between the county and its municipal hospital and personnel matters but suggested those were tangential to talks about how to proceed with possible projects.
It just kind of all blended together, Mr. Bush said.
He apologized for the misleading notice but said he believed the session was proper.
Aside from a Times reporter, no members of the public showed up for the meeting.
Mr. Bush said regular meetings between legislators and hospital managers are beneficial in helping to avoid animosity or conflict.
We try to do that on a quarterly basis, just so we are on the same page, he said.
While Fridays meeting was called on somewhat short notice, the next joint session has been slated for March 26 at the hospital.
We have many exciting projects currently in progress, Mr. Burch said in a statement issued in response to a request for comment. This includes the dialysis project, which is still on track to break ground in late spring. We are also working with local officials to implement our strategic plan regarding our outreach clinics.
The hospital owns and operates clinics in Beaver Falls and Lyons Falls.
About a year ago, it entered an agreement to lease the Copenhagen Health Center on High Street from the village for $500 per month with the intent to purchase it for $50,000 and build a new, larger center on the site.
However, given state aid cuts and having unused space owing to declining student enrollment, Copenhagen Central School District officials approached the hospital about leasing space in its building, and the hospital proposed to renovate three rooms at the rear of the kindergarten-through-12th-grade building for a health clinic.
The proposed center, if developed, would be separate from school facilities and have its own entrance and parking.
An informational session on the plan was held last summer. While there apparently have been informal discussions on lease issues and other matters since, no formal action has been taken.
Converting space in the school to a health clinic is expected to cost $400,000 to $500,000, while constructing a new one would cost about $1.5 million, hospital officials have said.
However, they have indicated a willingness to go another route in developing a more modern clinic for the Copenhagen area, if necessary.
Lewis County General Hospital in 2010 also unveiled plans to construct a 6,000-square-foot clinic on Route 26 in the town of Denmark, just inside Lewis County near the Jefferson County border.
The hospital received permission to extend water and sewer service from West Carthage to the proposed clinic, but no formal action has taken place since then.
Article source: http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20120128/NEWS04/701289951