Letter to the editor

When I first thought of applying for the CEO position at Dahl Memorial, it was the possibility of building a new facility that excited me the most about the opportunity. When I left Ekalaka 20 years ago, I didn’t think my career path would take me into healthcare administration and back home. Here we are, and happy to be here.

The experience I have in healthcare started in Forsyth on July 2, 2007 with the thought of someday becoming CEO and providing some sort of stability in that position to Rosebud Health Care Center. In May of 2010, I was given the CEO opportunity but not without challenges.

The first challenge came in March of 2011, when the State Surveyors told us our current clinic was unsatisfactory and did not meet current codes. At that point the Board of Directors decided to build a new clinic and remodel a portion of the current hospital in order to remain in compliance with Fire, Life and Safety codes as well as become ADA compliant (Handicap accessible).

The process began in April of 2011, ground breaking in October of 2012, the clinic was opened on July 22, 2013 and the remodel was completed by December of the same year.

During my approach to the community on giving them the benefits of building a new clinic, I could only rely on information I read and learned from other facilities that went through the building process. Some of the benefits included, being in compliance with current building codes, more efficiency for the patient and staff, increased safety protections for patient and staff, increased utilization by providing more services, greater reimbursement through better Medicare payments, greater ability to recruit staff, and provide an opportunity to be an educational facility for students within the healthcare field.

When the project was completed and time went on, I can say with confidence what was said would happen, actually happened. The utilization increased, the facility was able to provide educational experiences to medical students, efficiencies for the staff and patient increased, reimbursement increased and safety protections for patients and staff also increased.

The Dahl Memorial Healthcare building project is not any different in concept than the building project I was involved in during my tenure at Rosebud Health Care Center in Forsyth. This project is larger but the steps are the same. The need for a new building to continue to provide healthcare to our community is evident.

The current building does not meet current healthcare or standard building codes in several ways. The facility is not ADA Accessible, this includes entryways, doorways and restrooms, the facility is in dire need of new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, a majority of the electrical infrastructure needs to be replaced, the hospital corridor is 7’ and needs to be 8’ to meet code requirements, the shared toilet rooms in the patient rooms are too small and make it difficult for nurses to assist patients with toilet transfers.

The 1941 addition housing the clinic and administration offices is at the end of its useful life and is not feasible to keep. General overall review of the existing Mechanical, Plumbing and HVAC system shows that all systems are at the end of their useful life. These are not quick fix items and need to be addressed in order for Dahl Memorial to stay viable in providing care to our community.

If the upcoming bond to fund the future healthcare facility passes, I am expecting to see similar benefits for the patients, staff and community as I experienced in Forsyth. All positive. Some of these benefits include, each patient and resident will have a private room, privacy for all patients and resident will improve, ADA accessible, all medical services will be on one level, clinic visits will be done in the clinic, all entrances and exits will be ADA compliant, safety for patients and staff will increase, building will be in compliance with Building and Life Safety Codes, new facilities are used to recruit for current and future staffing needs, allow our providers to have students, either Physicians or Nurse Practitioners, provide an educational experience for RN students, be a training facility for CNAs, business office, lab and radiology.

The new facility could offer additional services that include CAT Scan, Pharmacy, expanded Lab services and physical therapy. The new facility will allow the staff to be more efficient and reduce the number of workarounds to accomplish simple tasks, modern emergency rooms, attached enclosed ambulance bay that will allow for loading and unloading of patients to and from the ambulance all inside. Not to mention the privacy that is so necessary in a small, rural community.

The cost of the new facility will be $15,107,422. Payment for the facility will be through a 17 year bond funded with 25.58 mills paid towards the bond. When I left 20 years ago, Carter County was not in any condition to even think of making this investment, but today it is different. Then, a mill was less than $10,000 and today is in excess of $52,000. Currently, the pipeline companies make up little more than 93% of the county’s tax base.

To determine how this bond levy may affect you, take your taxable value either residential or agriculture and multiply that value by .02558 and that will give you the approximate increase in the taxes on your property.

Thank you for taking your time to read the highlights of what a new facility will bring to our patients and can do for our community. I understand the concerns people have of the hows, whys, the cost and the anxiety of the unknown.

I have experienced the same concerns from the above mentioned building project and have had the privilege to see the benefits for the patients, staff and community when the building project is complete. The building process is an endurance race not a sprint with the need for give and take during the entire process.

In the end, if the bond passes, Carter County will have a medical facility that will serve the healthcare needs of our community for generations to come.

The Bond Issue is on the November 6, 2018 general ballot. It is my personal hope the bond will earn the votes to pass. Please call me at 406-775-8730, 775-6097 or 406-351-1910 if you have questions or concerns.

Thank you,

Ryan Tooke, CEO

Dahl Memorial Healthcare Association