Quincy hospital voters rejecting $1 million levy request
QUINCY — Grant County Hospital District No. 2 (Quincy Valley Medical Center) voters are rejecting a one-year, $1 million levy to help the hospital district cut back on debt owed to Grant County,
In unofficial results released Tuesday night by the Grant County Auditor’s Office, the proposal has 1,181 no votes (52.05 percent) and 1,088 yes votes (47.95 percent). Because it’s a revenue measure, the proposal must receive 60 percent approval to pass.
About 2,000 votes remain to be counted countywide, according to the auditor’s office. Updated vote totals will be released Wednesday afternoon.
Hospital CEO Jerry Hawley and Glenda Bishop, the hospital’s compliance and risk management officer, released a statement prior to the vote being announced. “If the levy fails, the (Quincy hospital) board will be returning to discussions of future options including the possibility of other levy efforts,” they wrote.
The hospital will be open regardless, Hawley said. “We will be here, we will be operating,” he said. “Either way, services will continue and we remain committed to providing quality local healthcare to our community,” Hawley and Bishop wrote.
Quincy hospital officials had asked for the money to help the district pay back money owed to Grant County. The amount owed by the district varies, depending on the payments made, but is about $3 million.
Because it’s a junior taxing district, hospital district officials can borrow money from Grant County when the district doesn’t have enough cash on hand to meet its obligations. The money must be paid back with interest.
The hospital district has been struggling to pay back the money it owes for three or four years. “Through a variety of events and circumstances over the last several years, the hospital has fallen behind financially,” Hawley said in an earlier interview. He is a former QVMC administrator and has been back for a new term for about a year.
Like all hospitals, QVMC was required by federal regulations to move to an electronic medical records system, Hawley said, and the hospital has spent money updating equipment to meet federal requirements. In addition, Quincy is a hub for recreation, and the state’s major east-west highway runs through the hospital district. Quincy hospital has struggled with patients who use the hospital in emergency situations, then don’t pay the bill. “Come down, get hurt, we never see them again,” Hawley said.
The hospital also had to deal with a shortage of medical providers, Hawley said, but that’s been alleviated somewhat with the arrival of a physician, an internal medicine specialist, and two nurse practitioners. That allowed QVMC to reopen its clinic, which is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., he said. The hospital’s acute care department and emergency room remain open. The hospital did close its long-term care wing.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.