The Fayette County Memorial Hospital (FCMH) Board of Trustees passed a resolution this week to ask the Fayette County Commissioners to support financing efforts for future hospital improvements.
In a unanimous vote by the six-member board on Wednesday, the resolution reinforces the board’s desire to “maintain the independent status of the Hospital as a county-owned entity…not interested in selling the hospital to another organization,” according to FCMH officials, and asked the commissioners to “show their support for the Hospital’s strategic improvements and independent status by approving the financing options obtained by the Hospital.”
The resolution clarifies that while the hospital does not require any direct financial support from the county, it does need approval of the commissioners to obtain financing.
“As the ultimate owners of the hospital, the commissioners would have to authorize and co-sign on any financing that would be secured,” said FCMH CEO Mike Diener.
FCMH officials said the resolution is a result of the need to address the advancing age of the hospital’s operating rooms and to support strategic initiatives such as the new oncology clinic. The current operating rooms are part of the original 1950 construction of the hospital.
“Our recent accreditation survey by The Joint Commission confirms that our surgeries are occurring in a safe environment, but in order to expand our surgical offerings and meet future standards for surgical care, we need to upgrade our surgery space,” said Diener. “We are asking for support in order to secure financing to build three new operating rooms on the back of the surgery center.”
Most of the concerns are related to modernizing the HVAC system and expanding the size of the existing rooms, according to Diener, and the cost to renovate is such that it makes more long-term sense to build new.
Officials said the resolution also highlights recent successes and other improvements that are enhancing patient care. Over the last two years, Diener said FCMH has made significant physical plant, operational and financial improvements.
One example is Fayette Cancer Care, a new oncology program developed in partnership with Adena Cancer Center. The hospital is making significant investments in a state-of-the-art pharmacy clean room for chemotherapy drugs and a renovated clinic space in Medical Arts Building 2 for oncology patient care.
“Our mission is to improve the health of our community by providing high quality patient care and education,” said Myron Priest, FCMH Board of Trustees chair. “At this time the board of trustees and hospital administration believe FCMH is the right organization with the right people to meet those needs. We are excited about the future of FCMH and are focusing our efforts on keeping FCMH as the local provider of choice in Fayette County.”
