The county is now the owner of Marion General Hospital after completing payment on a loan.
By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher
This month the county paid off the note for Marion General Hospital.
Hospital Administrator Jerry Howell said the hospital cost about $5 million and was first occupied in 1981. It is great news that the Marion County Board of Supervisors has finished paying back the USDA Rural Development loan, Howell added.
“Anytime the county eliminates debt that it has had for any amount of time it is a significant accomplishment,” Howell said, noting that the payment period was approximately 30 years.
Another positive thing is that the hospital is still structurally sound and in overall good condition, Howell said. Through the years new equipment has been added to the hospital, and the county has performed maintenance such as painting and replacing flooring to keep the facility in good shape, Howell noted.
The economic downturn has taken its toll on the hospital, as some patients have not been able to pay their bills after becoming unemployed, said Howell. According to Howell, it may be extreme to say the hospital is in a financial crisis, but he admitted that it is a difficult time for smaller hospitals such as MGH.
He noted that prior to the recession the hospital had about $300,000 worth of bad debt it wrote off each month from patients who could not pay, and now it is more than $400,000 a month. Howell said that is money the hospital will probably never receive.
To deal with the situation Howell said the hospital has reduced employee hours, minimized staff through attrition, but fortunately has only had to lay off a couple of clerical workers.
He said the hard times Marion General Hospital is facing is “not unusual” for hospitals. Looking to the future, Howell said the hospital is “constantly having to evaluate and go forward,” and he pledged that the quality of care at the hospital will remain good.
Will the hospital go back to being named Marion County Hospital?
The hospital has always been owned by the county. This just means they paid off the “house note” on the building!
So let me get this cleared up…? So the hospital hasn’t incurred a “crisis”, but they HAVE laid off employees? Is that not management’s faulty excuse to relieve the hospital of its “burdens” because a better solution could not be concluded? I think so. Pitiful poor management, I say. One issue is that other hospitals require “cash upon service” and they aren’t laying employees off.
I must say I find disturbing the fact that management is not only willing to admit such a large amount of uncollectable debt but the fact that it’s growing and expected to increase! I’m a little closer to this institution than I’m willing to speak about but some of the problem areas appear to be tantamount to straining at gnats and swallowing the camel!
I’d be hard put to say where to start but overall the main problem seems to be efficiency; as such that would fall under the responsibilities of the administrator. I know Mr. Howell to be a good manager but my opinion is that he’s got some second-level managers that are failing him and his attention is so consumed by the larger picture and the future of the institution that their failures are coming in “under the radar”. I think he needs to step back and re-assess his priorities or we’ll be without a viable, local hospital in a couple of years.
I’d really like to think on this a while and submit specific suggestions at a future date so if anyone out there would care to read my comments and opinions then check back here every few days. I fear if I’d submit a comprehensive evaluation all at once it would be shortened or redacted. There must, however, be a solution because the alternative is bleak and unthinkable.
I definitly agree with the efficiency of MGH being a major problem also i would have to say the consistancy part is severly lacking. With full time day supervisors being moved to vacant slots elsewhere in the hospital, it has caused a major crises in being consistant with policies and employee’s williness to pledge to excellent care not just the pledge of “good care.”
When people come to an emergency room they are treated even if they cannot pay. If they are not treated they could die. If they do pay a small amount when admitted, that may be ALL they ever pay. So many people do not have any health insurance now. Forrest General, Wesley and all of the other hospitals in the state have the same problems with debt that is unpaid. Both Forrest General and Wesley have laid off employees over the past few years. Mississippi is a poor state with poor people. If people with bills are not working, how can they be made to pay their bills – any bills? People are not paying their notes on houses, cars, appliances and so on much less hospital bills. These are sad, difficult times for our state. Some banks in the Delta have already closed. The hope for our economy seems to be offering more jobs to people who want to work but instead plants all over are closing. Look at the ones who have closed in Marion county in the past 5 years. Employed people can pay their bills.
When someone presents to an ER, they are only entitled to an assessment. they only have to be treated if their condition is life-threatening. Unfortunately, those that have no intent to pay abuse this weakness in the healthcare system. They know they will get treated because the hospitals fear the trial lawyers. Take for instance a patient that stubs their toe at home, they call an ambulance to take then to the ER. The ambulance comes because if they don’t the patient could sue them. That person will go straight back to an ER room because he or she arrived in an ambulance. The ER staff evaluates the patient xrays are done, pain meds are given, and perhaps the patient is given a set of crutches. Why? Because if the ER sends that person home without treating what is a minor injury and the person later has a completely unrelated but serious health problem, the ER will be blamed and the patient could atempt to sue. Defending against lawsuits is a costly process. And if you don’t think this happens talk to healthcare worker involved in the EMS system. People should understand that ER’s are not for general healthcare problems, hence the name EMERGENCY ROOM.
Man, golly. You can tell we’re healthcare professionals can’t you, ha ha ha…?! We just as well stop commenting before we’re figured out, because its pointless…. Explaining the “healthcare system” and how it SHOULD work to the everyday dumb a-…. Ooops that wasn’t nice…. I meant the average everyday “readers” would be like telling a spoiled infant child they can’t have the candy because they don’t have any money. The “candy” is pain meds, and the spoiled infantile children are those specific ignorant patients who abuse the system (no offense meant to hard working folks who don’t abuse the system). It is pathetic that in all my years I have seen healthcare transition from “how may WE help you” without ever thinking about their ability to pay or whether or not they’re “faking” — to the whiney perception that THEY say “you gotta’ treat me cuz I’m entitled to it, or I’ll sue”. (That is credited to Liberal lawmakers and government officials who we seem to amazingly elect). Folks didn’t used to come to the ER for a stumped toe, or call 911 for an ambulance because their privates are dripping a funny discharge. Mississippi needs to change their definition of a true “emergency” and what is required of hospitals to do to treat certain things or we are going down the tube with unneccessary costs. The future of healthcare is looking glim, and I wouldn’t recommend it as a career to you younger folks I know.
Need not discourage the young from going
Into health care. You or an offspring may need medical attention in the future and will appreciate a caring face regardless of their salary or your financial class!