Quincy hospital asks taxpayers to pay debt

QUINCY - Quincy Valley Medical Center Board of Directors unanimously agreed to ask taxpayers to pay for $2.2 million of their $3.956 million debt.

The maintenance and operations levy will increase the property tax rate that Quincy area taxpayers pay by $1.01 per $1,000 of assessed value for one year, chairman Anthony Gonzalez said during the special called meeting on Thursday.

According to Grant County Assessor Laure Grammar, a property owner who has a $250,000 assessed value house would see an increase of $275 to the tax bills if the levy passes.

If passed, the money generated would reduce the hospital's debt, or registered warrants, to $2.5 million, he said.

The resolution also asks Live Nation, owner of The Gorge Amphitheatre, to pay the hospital some of the $400,000 that QVMC loses each year by concertgoers who don't pay their bill, Gonzalez said.

QVMC's financial troubles became severe in March 2011, when they had to switch to a federally mandated electronic medical record. In the seven months that followed their debt increased from less than $1 million to more than $3 million, according to a release by the hospital.

During the meeting QVMC Chief Executive Officer Mehdi Merred said most of the debt incurred since comes from emergency room patients who do not pay their bill.

Gonzalez said the hospital is vital to the community and he thanked the doctors, nurses and support staff present at the meeting for their hard work to save the lives of and heal Quincy residents and visitors. He added staff and the board members do the best they can with what they have. Gonzalez said he would not comment on criticism made by Grant County officials about their foot-dragging approach to pay the debt reported in previous Columbia Basin Herald articles.

Grant County Commissioner Richard Stevens said passing the levy is a step in the right directions, but "we are going to have to hold their feet to the fire to get the remaining $2.5 million debt paid down," if the levy gets voter approval in November.

Gonzalez said state law bans hospital staff from promoting the levy while working, but they can volunteer their time to inform Quincy residents of why the levy is important.