BCH levy on November ballot

BOUNDARY COUNTY -- The Boundary Community Hospital levy will be on the voting ballot Nov. 8. The levy is designed to ensure that the local hospital can maintain its current standard of patient care while offering the community faster and better services, according to hospital officials. 

“We’re asking voters to support their community hospital as we continue to strive to stay current with technology,” said Craig Johnson, BCH CEO.

According to the BCH website, the hospital is a public, not for profit institution that is owned and governed by Boundary County. A nine-member board of trustees oversees the hospital and are appointed by the county commissioners for three year term. The last levy BCH put before the public was in 2008, Johnson said.

Boundary County Commissioners passed the ballot measure which will ask voters to approve a two-year supplemental levy. Idaho law states that to generate an additional $414,000 per year for hospital purposes for two years, it must be approved by a simple majority of voters and initial revenues would be not be collected before December 2017. The funds will be used within the fiscal year 2017 County Budget. According to the BCH website, the household cost for the levy will be $48 per $100,000 in property assessed value per year for two years. This levy is earmarked for specific equipment and/or capital improvements and not a general fund request. According to the website, the funds will be spent on:

n Upgrading the climate control system at the Hospital Replacing the main fire panel for the Hospital and nursing home building n Upgrades to surgery including new instruments, scopes and orthopedic surgery equipment New laboratory equipment for blood and virus testing to speed analysis results for faster diagnosis and treatment n C-Arm Portable X-Ray machine for surgery and emergency use n CT injector that works with the new CT scanner to produce better images”.

The hospital is proposing the levy to sustain adequate medical care and up-to-date care, the levy is being ran to ensure the hospital facility is well-equipped hospital facility. The levy is being ran to improve the quality of service and meet government standards and codes. Another reason for the levy is to ensure that the nursing home is in compliance with government standards; addressing life-safety concerns and offer high quality care. Another factor for the levy is to reduce the patient wait time for results with new equipment producing faster, more accurate diagnoses, according to hospital officials. The breakdown of the $828,000 levy over two years is as follows: n $100,000 to replace the main fire alarm panel - to replace the panel from 1992 and parts are no longer available. n $250,000 to upgrade the hospital and nursing home building climate control system - updating this system will result in increased energy efficiencies and cost savings. n $202,000 for surgical equipment - endoscopy scopes and instruments with state-of-the-art equipment. n $126,000 for upgraded radiology equipment-The C-Arm Portable X-Ray equipment for orthopedic surgeries, which reduces the amount of radiation. To expand testing options to patients, a CT injector for simultaneous injection of saline solutions to decrease the amount of intravenous contrast to a patient. n $150,000 for laboratory equipment - updated equipment resulting in faster results (hours instead of days) and equipment for addressing pathogens.