McKay Healthcare facing closure

Citizens hope to rally to patch budget hole

The McKay Healthcare Center is in jeopardy of closing, Soap Lake citizens learned yesterday at a strategic planning meeting held at Houghton-Delancey Elementary School in Soap Lake Wednesday night.

But though the budget picture is not yet complete, the approximately 30 attendees of the meeting want to keep the hospital running.

According to numbers provided meeting facilitator George Sharp, who works for the state Office of Community Trade and Economic Development, the hospital owes Grant County $607,485, and its credit line only extends to $750,000.

The hospital has not received its federal Pro Share dollars for the last two years, though it's slated to receive $100,000 in 2005.

Add in other nagging expenses, such as a leaking roof at the hospital expected to cost $10,000, and McKay Healthcare is in danger of closing its doors and forcing the residents in its 42-bed nursing home to find a new place to live.

"We have difficult decisions that are going to need to be made in order to save McKay," Sharp said.

The purpose of Wednesday night's strategic planning meeting was for McKay board members and administrators to hear the concerns from the community. Few solid budgetary numbers were available, and new Administrator Mary Prentice said she should have a more complete picture of the budget by the end of next week.

At issue also is the financial status of the Mother Theresa-McKay Youth Outreach & Wellness Center, which was cited by former Administrator Lee Mallott as costing the hospital district too much money.

According budget documents provided by Georgiann Mueri, the youth center made $81,327.85 in 2003 and spent $77,232.80. For 2004, so far, the youth center has made $27,403.46, most of which has come from grants, Mueri said.

Members of the audience, who included McKay employees, family members of residents and interested Soap Lake citizens, were overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the hospital open.

Soap Lake Mayor Wayne Hovde said the city has a large interest in keeping the "high-quality facility" open, though the question will be where the money comes from. With its own tight budget and the possible passing of Tim Eyman's Initiative 864, Hovde said the city's support will be mostly moral.

"The city has chosen not to have an active part, but we have an active interest," he said.

Soap Lake businesswoman Marina Romary said as baby boomers grow older, more will need the service of the nursing home. If necessary, the hospital should float a levy to keep McKay open, she said.

"If McKay closes, we won't get it open again," Romary said.

Currently, the hospital district has a levy rate of 50 cents per $1,000 of property tax value, Hospital District Commissioner Phillip Trepanier said.

Several people expressed concern that the board and administration must show more cohesion for the public to support additional funds through a levy.

Burr Beckwith, who lives in Soap Lake, said he was concerned about how the hospital district got into such financial straits.

"I have a really strong feeling that McKay is being badly mismanaged," he said.

The district has seen quite a change at the top during the past few months. Earlier this year, Superintendent Bruce Buckles left on sabbatical because, he said in an interview with the Herald, he could not do that job and his new one as an administrator with the state agency Aging and Adult Care based out of East Wenatchee.

Also, Buckles added, to remain in both positions could create a potential conflict of interest.

Buckles recommended the appointment of Bill Riley to as acting superintendent of the district. Riley, along with Board President Jean Hads, asked Administrator Lee Mallott to resign. In late May, new administrator Prentice was hired.

Judy Spencer, who has worked as a nurse at the hospital since 1992, praised Prentice's work in her short tenure, but she called for better communication from the hospital board.

"As a staff member, what we're looking for is truth and honesty from the board," she said.

The board will address some of the concerns at its meeting today at noon, Sharp said.

State Rep. Janea Holmquist, who attended the meeting, said she wants to see the hospital stay open. Holmquist, along with state Sen. Joyce Mulliken, sent a letter to U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, urging him to lobby for the release of those federal dollars to the hospital, Holmquist said.

"Healthcare is so very important to rural areas," she said. "I don't ever want to see the day when we have to drive to see our loved ones in Spokane or Seattle."