After years of keeping the North Shore hospital levy at $800,000, the hospital board passed a resolution upping the 2019 levy to $1,100,000.
The vote came at the hospital board’s September 13 meeting.
“We had a lengthy conversation regarding operational issues resulting in the proposed increase,” said North Shore hospital/care center administrator Kimber Wraalstad. “Specifically discussed were the addition of pharmacy services eight hours a day, six days a week and the addition of two paid EMTs for the ambulance service.
“Also,” noted Wraalstad, “There were the losses by service line in 2017 including the Care Center loss of $1,650,000, Home Care loss of $281,000 and Ambulance loss of $322,000.”
The last time the hospital board voted to increase the levy was in 2011. When inflation was factored in, Wraalstad said, “We figured out the yearly average from then to now, using simple math was 4.066 percent.”
When asked if the hike in levy had anything to do with the recent $24.5 million hospital/care center rebuild, Wraalstad replied, “No, the increase is due to the operational changes that are occurring.”
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