Stronger Financials Set Tone for Meeting between PCH and Hospital Architects

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Pinckneyville Community Hospital posted an operating income of $110,209 and a net income of $139,862 for the month of December 2011. Net income includes non-operating revenue. PCH still has a year-to-date operating loss of $152,604. However, the overall bottom line is a positive net income of $90,909.

The hospital posted operating and net losses for the first three months of this fiscal year (May, June and July) and also for the month of October. August, September, November and December have been positive months.

In order to qualify for funding from the USDA to build a new hospital, PCH must show a positive bottom line for six months.

Hospital Administrator Tom Hudgins, Head of Engineering Charlie Herring and Dr. Gregg Fozzard along with three members of the PCH Board of Directors will meet with the architects and contractor in Nashville, Tenn. on Feb. 9 to discuss scaling back the proposed new hospital and get a quote on the fee to make new drawings of a smaller building.

Hudgins expects the new drawings to take about a week. A special meeting of the board will be called once the new drawings and cost estimates are available. The board will then make a decision on whether to move forward with a smaller hospital or to make the required repairs to the current facility.

PCH was turned down for a Housing and Urban Development mortgage guarantee loan for a $40 million hospital. While there is no set price on a scaled-back facility, the board is hoping the cut the cost in half.

USDA has $1.3 billion to commit to viable programs before the end of their fiscal year in September.

PCH was initially told to apply for $10 million in funding from USDA, but may ask for more, depending upon the the results of the necessary debt capacity study that will be done if the board chooses to move forward with a new, smaller facility. The remaining funds would have to come from other sources, such as cash reserves and bonds.

Hudgins said that $345,000 in funds from a capital grant for a new 96-hour back-up fuel supply for the boilers and roofs on the Family Medical Center and the north building may be re-directed for use on the new facility. The hospital would have to make changes to their original application and get approval before spending the funds on a new building.

In other business, the board:

-- heard that repair to a collapsed drain in the dietary section will require $3,000 in asbestos removal before repairs can be made.

-- approved the purchase of a new fire alarm control panel to replace the one that failed last week. The new panel costs $5,750 and can be removed and used for spare parts if a new hospital is built. The new panel should arrive Tuesday, Feb. 7.

-- heard that Dr. Alfono Urdaneta had his first surgery clinic at on Feb. 7. An obstetrics and gynecology clinic with doctors from a Mount Vernon practice is expected to begin Feb. 27. They may offer surgery at PCH at a later date.