The Henry County Commission voted again Tuesday to extend a $4 million line of credit to the struggling Henry County Medical Center.
The commission had voted in May on the proposal, but a new resolution was in place this month that tweaked the wording.
Bruce Reed, a member of the HCMC board of trustees, said the money, if used, is to supplant the medical center’s operating funds until Henry County Healthcare Center can be sold.
The healthcare center, the former Henry County Nursing Home, has been owned by the medical center for more than 30 years, but it was identified a few months ago as an asset that HCMC would like to sell to improve its financial situation.
The action Tuesday by the county allows the medical center to go to market to seek a loan with a favorable interest rate. The commission voted, 11-2, to approve the line of credit. Commissioners Missy Hamilton and Ralph Wiles voted no. Chuck Elizondo and Kenneth Humphreys were absent.
With more than 70 people on hand in a crowded Chancery courtroom at the courthouse, County Mayor John Penn Ridgeway also discussed the medical center’s woes, blaming most of the issues on a low reimbursement rate the local hospital gets from TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program.
He said TennCare uses three different companies — BlueCare, United Health Care and AmeriGroup. Among local TennCare patients, 70% here use BlueCare, which Ridgeway says in most cases pays HCMC 10 times less on reimbursements than other hospitals in other locations.
An announcement last month by the medical center indicated it plans to close its obstetrics unit, probably in about three months.
Nearly a dozen people commented during the citizens forum portion of Tuesday’s meeting, all showing support for the work done by the doctors and nurses in the local OB unit, and showing dismay at the decision to shut it down.
“The best thing I can tell you to do right now is to put pressure on Nashville, write letters to the governor,” said Scott Whitby, chairman of the hospital board.
“Put pressure on the TennCare people and the MCOs (managed care organizations),” Dr. Whitby said, referring to the low reimbursement rates.
Reed told the commissioners the hospital is now down to 14 days’ cash on hand, meaning that’s how long it could operate without any incoming revenue.
Reed pointed out HCMC has about 700 total employees — all of whom the medical center has to take into consideration.
“If there’s any way to save the OB unit, we want to do it, but we also have to keep the hospital open,” Reed said.
HCMC CEO John Tucker was unable to attend Tuesday’s meeting, but Tucker will be present during a community forum hosted by the medical center. That’s set for 5 p.m. Thursday at the Krider Performing Arts Center.
INMATE GRANT OK’D
Rob Goad, executive director of the Paris-Henry County Industrial Committee, spoke about a grant from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) that would pay for building an 8,000-square-foot secure bunkhouse at the Henry County jail.
That building would be used to house inmates who are taking part in the Sheriff’s Department’s inmate work release program.
The commission voted to authorize $1 million in local money as part of an 80-20 match. The grant will be for $4 million, bringing the total cost of the project to $5 million.
“I’ve got manufacturers clamoring for more inmates,” Goad said. “This program has been great on all levels.”
He said inmates are in demand in part because other people in the general population “don’t want to work.”
He cited figures that indicate that, of all able-bodied people between the ages of 16 and 65 in Henry County, only 50.2% are working.
That’s means 49.8% of those able-bodied people are choosing not to work.