Support Your Health Center!
Posted on Tuesday, September 17th, 2013
Hospital 40th Anniversary, January 30, 3012
Dr. Virgil Smith (front row) admitted the first patient on opening day, January 30, 1972. He celebrates 50 years of practice, all in Marietta, in 2013!
EMS/Fire Brigade Station 2 at Exit 1 of I-35.
Hospital conference room seats 50 people for health seminars and public service events.
We Save Lives
We Are Protectors of Your Health
We are YOUR Love County Hospital, Clinic, and Ambulance!
Vote YES on October 8, 2013
Support Your Health Center
On October 8, 2013, your YES vote to renew a penny sales tax will make the difference in continuing to provide ambulance, emergency room, hospital, skilled nursing, rehabilitation, laboratory, x-ray, disease prevention, and clinic services in Love County as you have come to expect them.
Your vote is important. You own the county health center. Its future depends on your patronage and support.
Safety Net
Since last voted on in 2004, the penny sales tax has provided an average of about $675,000 per year for operating, equipping, and maintaining the Love County Health Center (the hospital, clinic, and EMS).
At times, the tax revenue has been the institution’s safety net – critical to minimizing losses or breaking even. Other years, it has provided a margin with which to make facility improvements and additions. If approved, the renewal will continue for 10 years.
The health care sector is indispensable in attracting jobs and families to Love County. No rural county thrives without health care, yet 22 county hospitals have closed since 1985. All 17 of the remaining hospitals our size receive public support, 14 of them from sales taxes ranging from .5¢ to 2¢.
We can make it if you will: shop locally, seek local health care, and vote YES on October 8, 2013!
Valuable Improvements Since 2004
Enlarged clinic: 3,000 square feet and 9 treatment rooms added to the existing 6,000 sq. ft. clinic in 2011.
New therapy building: 3,500 square feet of office/treatment space for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and respiratory therapy and adjoining community room opened in 2010.
More doctors: Hospital-clinic will add a fifth physician by the close of 2013, a net gain of one doctor since 2004. Also, the clinic has a visiting heart specialist and the emergency room has a neurologist available through “telestroke” video-conferencing technology.
School Nurse: The hospital is providing an RN-level school nurse for all Love County schools.
New equipment: CT scanner (new in 2007; upgraded in 2013), bone density scanner, bladder scanner, enhanced ultrasound, filmless radiography (all x-ray film converted to digital format), automated infusion system, automated drug dispensing system, electronic charting and recordkeeping throughout the institution.
Upgraded facilities: Enclosed glass walkway, expanded gift shop, new chapel welcome hospital visitors. Attractive landscaping beautifies the front lawn and entryways.
All of these improvements were made possible through the combination of the sales tax, grants, trust funds, and local economizing. Improvements in progress in the fall of 2013 include:
Enlarged emergency department: two new treatment rooms and a renovated waiting room are being added.
Hospital-based adult day center: On the site of the former mental health services center on Wanda St., renovations are underway for a day center for adults
with diagnosed dementia or developmental disabilities.
Valuable Relationships Since 1972
Local Control: Health Center funds and expenditures are controlled by a Board of Control made up of Love County citizens who are appointed by the Board of County Commissioners. Richard Barker, FACHE, has ably led as health center administrator since 1990.
Management Agreement: A valued relationship with Mercy Health System since the mid-1990s has been a key component of recent success. Under the agreement, Mercy provides accounting, billing and engineering support, as well as access to bulk purchasing of medical supplies and equipment. The Love County Health Center pays for the lease of employees plus a nominal monthly consulting fee.
Health Center Activity at a Glance
Between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013:
Hospital served 342 inpatients and 10,802
outpatients, including $419,688 in free health
care to those who could not afford to pay.
outpatients, including $419,688 in free health
care to those who could not afford to pay.
Emergency Room served 4,664 patients.
Love County EMS responded to 1,994 ambulance
calls.
calls.
Clinic served 17,739 patient visits.
Food Pantry operated by coworkers dispensed
16,973 food baskets.
16,973 food baskets.
Vote YES October 8, 2013!
EMS