Community member Lloyd Speck appealed to the Cook County North Shore Hospital board on December 19, 2013 to keep its levy as low as possible and to be cautious as it considers a multi-million dollar renovation project. “The bottom line is can we afford it or can’t we?” he asked.
The board was preparing to finalize its levy for 2014. The 2013 levy was $800,000, but the preliminary levy left the board room to set a levy as high as $1.5 million.
If the hospital requires a levy to stay out of the red, Speck said, how can the community afford a hospital renovation? The most important thing is that the Care Center residents are well fed and clean, and Hospital Administrator Kimber Wraalstad does a good job overseeing that, he said.
Speck said his property taxes have increased 76 percent in the last six years. “I think it would break this county if taxes keep going up,” he said. “I think the county has created a great monster out there because of never saying the word ‘no.’”
Speck recommended that board members look at a potential renovation as if it were their own business venture and that they ask, “Who needs it? Who will benefit from it? Who pays for it?” He said, “… If you’re going to do something like this, expect the worst and you’ll never be disappointed.” He said consultants are too optimistic about how the financial aspects of projects will turn out.
Speck said he would like to see the legislature authorize another 1 percent hospital sales tax.
“…We have many of the same concerns,” responded board chair Tom Spence. He said they would be meeting in January to discuss potential funding mechanisms for the renovation project.
Board member Kay Olson said she had received emails from people frustrated about the hospital’s potential levy and remodeling costs.
Spence advocated for reducing the levy even lower than 2013’s $800,000 and setting no levy as a goal for the future. He said he wanted “to try and send a message that we get it.”
“I don’t think that’s achievable,” said board member Howard Abrahamson. Significantly increasing business and reducing expenses are not within their power, he said.
Board member Justin Mueller indicated that it might not be achievable, but it might be good to move in that direction.
“I’m not satisfied with keeping the status quo,” said Spence. “I’d like to see a downward trend.”
John Strange, president of St. Luke’s Hospital, North Shore Hospital’s administrative partner, said St. Luke’s believes operations should stand on their own and not rely on a levy.
“If you want to keep the Care Center,” said Wraalstad, “then that levy issue is just going to keep sitting there.” She said a levy of zero would set “an unrealistic expectation” for keeping the Care Center open.
Olson said she had been asking constituents what they want. “Overwhelmingly, people want the Care Center,” she said. She said she had a hard time seeing the facility in the red all the time except for the help it gets from the levy. Seeing “black numbers” once in a while is only possible with a sufficient levy, she said.
Everybody using the hospital is essentially paying a tax to support the Care Center, said Abrahamson.
Barb Heideman of the North Shore Health Care Foundation said there’s a point at which a lower levy would affect services. “Without this hospital, the city is cooked. The county is cooked,” she said. “It’s a priority expense, I think, in people’s minds.”
Spence said that reducing the levy would be to indicate “at least we’re trying.”
“Sometimes you reach the point of stretching ’til you burst,” board member Sharon Bloomquist said.
The board passed a motion to keep the levy at $800,000 for 2014.
Tour of other facilities
Several hospital and board employees toured several Minnesota health care facilities representing the work of architectural firms vying for the North Shore Hospital renovation.
“You can tell the difference between a $6 million budget and a $60 million budget very easily,” said Dr. Milan Schmidt, who was on the tour. The differences could be seen in both aesthetics and function, he said, with the more expensive facilities easier to use and having a better flow.
Schmidt said he learned that you have to really be on top of the architects to make sure they are listening to what you say and incorporating your suggestions into the plan.
Kay Olsen said nurses at one hospital were frustrated with the electrical engineers’ decision to hide outlets behind the hospital beds because they thought it would look better.
New coding system
Administrator Wraalstad said the hospital is going to have to start using a new international coding system, the ICD- 10. Some people involved in billing are having to go back and take anatomy and physiology courses again, she said.
The new system, which will be required starting next October, is much more specific than the old one. “There are six codes for turkey injuries,” said John Strange, president of St. Luke’s Hospital, North Shore Hospital’s administrative partner.
There are separate codes for left and right water skis injuring you, said St. Luke’s Vice President Sandra Barclay.
“There’s injury by space,” said Strange. Yes, Barclay concurred, there are specific codes for which part of your body has been hit by space debris.
“…There’s turtles in there,” said Strange. “I think there’s one in there for ducks.”
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