Hospital receives loan from County
Excerpted from the Claiborne Progress
Ashley Hurley, Staff Writer
Published January 26, 2011
Claiborne County Commission voted Monday night, January 24 to approve a $500,000 loan for the The loan was approved as a “just in case scenario.”
Hospital administrator Tim Brown spoke to the men and women of the commission at the meeting on what the loan will be used toward.
Chairman David Mundy who asked for a motion and a second sponsored the resolution.
Commissioner Steve Mason made a motion that the commission accepts the resolution and Commissioner Danny Longworth seconded it.
“The reason that I done this,” Mundy said, “I have been going to some of the hospital board meetings and they have been having some problems and I was afraid that it would come up at payroll time and be a few dollars short and they couldn’t make payroll. When they have their money, they can put it back in.”
Before the final vote was taken on the resolution, Chairman Mundy told the court that Administrator Tim Brown from the
Brown took the floor in front of the commission and explained the decisions that have been made in the hospital board meetings.
Commissioner Ken Clark commented on a few of the items that Brown had explained to the commission.
“You said that you usually make your money in the wintertime to carry you through the summer,”
“Like I said, there are no guarantees,” Brown said, “One of the things that I also talked to somebody about, you know you have to have money just to reduce. If I sent a person home, lay a person off, I have to pay out their accrued vacation time and I have to have money in the bank to do that.”
“If you don’t get that money tonight, will the hospital be in danger?” Commissioner Mitchell Cosby asked.
“Well, you know, we can’t actually see what’s coming in you know over this week, I can see a few days out as far as what money comes in,” Brown replied, “One of the things the auditors brought up is that we need to work through this mechanism to where we knew we had. It shouldn’t take a month or two to find a way to get money you know if we reach that situation.”
“You spoke of contracts, when is the contract with the ER scheduled to expire.” Commissioner Danny Longworth asked.
“IT actually comes up this summer and I think it has an automatic renewal unless you give a 90 day notice and I believe it’s March 1.”
Longworth then recommended that the hospital take the ER back over in order to control that part of the hospital.
Brown stated that it would be a one million to two million dollar to take the ER back over.
“You can’t keep going like we’re going, it sounds like we are on life support,” Commissioner Clark said, “When a patient goes on life support, soon or later the decision has got to be made to turn it off and hope for the best, sounds like we are pretty close to that.”
“You know I’m not sure where there is anybody ready for that,” Brown said, “It’s one of those things where you try to get the best information that you can and can make the best decisions that you can.”
A roll call vote was taken, the motion passed with twenty for and one against.
After the vote was made, a vote was made to amend the budget for repayment for the hospital; the motion passed unanimous.
