I’m publishing this to extend to you my
sincere wishes for success and to offer three
suggestions:
First –The Sublette County Commissioners
should be urged to donate the Pinedale
clinic and ambulance barn to the district.
Here’s why; the sale of Clinic property has
been approached by the Commissioners as
though there are two separate entities with
different constituents, one private and the
other public. They are not separate. They
are both part of county government. The
constituents are identical. The tax base for
both is one and the same. There is just one
pot of tax dollars. The Clinic was paid for
out of this pot. Should the same taxpayers
be asked to again pay for a Clinic they have
already paid for?
Second – The asking price for the Clinic
is about $4 million. That and the ball field
costs represent 35 percent of the total proposed
construction budget of $17 million.
Following USDA guidelines, if the construction
budget is reduced the percentage
of property costs to budget will increase exponentially.
Can the district afford to lose $4
to $5 million out of a $17-, $15-million, or
let alone, a $13-million construction budget
and still be able build a serviceable hospital?
Naturally, there will be offsetting savings if
the clinic becomes the out-patient wing for
the hospital. But remodeling costs, for services
moved from the hospital to the clinic,
will offset those savings. I suggest you will
find a minimal reduction in cost, if any.
There is another option. The district could
continue leasing the clinic. However, I suggest
the lease agreement include a lessee’s
option to renovate the clinic, as needed, to
accommodate hospital construction. Without
it, you would be at the landlord’s mercy.
You must have control over what can be
done to the clinic, if you lease it.
Third – Keep existing options open. The
prior board appealed the USDA’s decision
not to fund the hospital by asking for mediation.
I strongly suggest you move forward
with the process. Prior board members familiar
with the issues stand ready to assist.
The advantage of following through is the
good possibility that Lorraine Werner’s decision
would be modified giving you a base
line going forward. According to our consultants
her decision was flawed because
similar projects in size and scope had been
approved. This is a win-win situation for the
district.
Retention of key personnel is always an
issue. The cost of living adjustment granted
employees, in October of this year, was justified.
Wyoming’s cost of living index by
county was recently released showing Sublette
County to have the second highest cost
of living in the state. Overall, the index was
up about 3.5 percent. In the past six years,
district employees received a COLA raise
in 2012, a lump sum bonus of 2.5 percent
in 2014, and a 5 percent cash bonus in May
of 2017. In other words, their base salary
has not changed since 2012! Health care
professionals do not grow on trees. In rural
communities, like ours, they are not easily
replaced. We are fortunate to have highly
qualified and dedicated people caring for
our families. I suggest that relationship be
fostered and improved upon. The district
is judged by our patient’s satisfaction with
the employees they meet and the health care
providers who treat them. We in turn must
treat our employees and providers fairly. n
