During its meeting Thursday night, the board of the Grays Harbor Community Hospital District took no action on a request to allow the City of Montesano to withdraw from the district, likely triggering a petition drive and possible districtwide vote on the matter.
The Montesano City Council made the request about three weeks ago and a letter from Mayor Vini Samuel gave Hospital District 2, which operates Community Hospital, until the end of September to respond. The district also operates a clinic in Montesano.
The issue was a last-minute addition to the district board’s agenda Thursday night. Board President Maryann Welch proposed that the board take no action on the request and none was taken. Board members Becky Walsh and Robert Torgerson agreed with Welch and the matter was dropped without a motion or a vote. Welch said not enough is known about the financial ramifications. Walsh said she wants a more deliberative process to take place.
Samuel says the request is driven by a shortage of primary care doctors in Montesano. She wants the city to become part of Hospital District 1, which operates Summit Pacific Medical Center in Elma. She envisions the city creating a facility for a residency program that would bring freshly minted doctors who are completing their training, and working with Summit Pacific to oversee the program.
Community Hospital also hopes to create a residency program, but it has stalled because of financial problems that threatened the hospital’s solvency. As a result of major layoffs at the direction of a consulting firm the hospital brought in, the hospital is just beginning to show some positive financial numbers, but hospital officials are afraid the withdrawl of Montesano will do serious damage.
The property tax the district would lose only amounts to about $150,000 per year, according to Montesano. Community Hospital officials are far more worried about the potential impact of lost referrals if doctors not affiliated with Community refer patients to Olympia for surgery. Summit Pacific doesn’t offer trauma care, surgery or a birthing center.
Community Hospital says about 5 percent of its revenue comes from the Montesano area. Even if some referrals go to Community and some to Olympia, they say the loss could be in the millions of dollars annually.
If the petition drive to put the issue on the ballot is successful, it will trigger an extensive fact-finding process and public review. Community board President Welch said she welcomes that. She was clearly bothered by the deadline imposed and because Montesano officials had been considering the withdrawl for months without talking to Community. “If it proceeds, it will kick off a process to thoroughly examine all the facts, in public and not behind closed doors,” she said.
