January 21,
2010 Thursday
FRANKLIN
COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER
Board of Trustees Meeting
Notes from
Board Meeting: ---- On the Building:
The
Friday, January 15, 2010
evening board meeting at the Preston Library was very well
attended. In addition to the Board, Commissioners, Physicians
and FCMC staff, there were approximately 60 community members
present. All present listened to presentations by Board members
and staff on topics including, Auditors Nursing Home Impact
Study, Privatization/Conversion, Employee Recommendations Survey
results, Nexus Architect comparison of remodeling vs. building
new, Pros and Cons of the Larry H Miller site, and Pros and Cons
of the in-town site. After the presentations, community members
were asked to speak and voice their concerns, recommendations,
or suggestions. Many good suggestions and comments were heard
over the hour and half allotted for the discussion. Suggestions
and comments ranged from doing nothing now – to having another
Bond election for $31 million. Other suggestions included
expanding services to curtailing services not adequately
utilized in the community. In conclusion, Richard Westerberg,
the moderator, called for a
straw vote from the group for a recommendation.
Those present voted to build a
smaller version of the hospital on the Miller site.
The
Saturday morning
meeting included the Board, Commissioners, FCMC staff, a
physician and community members in a four hour discussion on the
many options and alternatives.
The consensus of the Board at
the conclusion was that our long term goal should still be to
build on the Miller site. An interim step to that
goal may be a $5 or $6 million OR/OB project on the in-town
site. Another conclusion reached after seeing the results from
the Auditor study was that keeping the
Nursing Home was
necessary for the success and Mission of the Hospital.
In today’s
Board meeting the events of the weekend
meeting were reviewed and some aspects were discussed further.
It was felt that a few of the items from our weekend meeting
needed further study or information. Those items included the
privatization issue, asking Nexus Architects to provide a
calculation to see what we could do for about $15 million on the
Miller site, and a calculation to estimate what we could do for
about $5 million on the in town site. Further study on these
two calculations would also be needed to evaluate Pros and Cons,
consequences, problems created in both scenarios, and other
related strategies for improving business operations and
increasing cash savings.
Mike Andrus
Administrator