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Best Medical Care Foremost On Minds
By JOHNNY SOLESBEE
Managing Editor
It was a lengthy meeting
lasting nearly three hours
but when it was finished
both sides appeared at ease
and both had agreed that
whatever action they took
would be toward a common
goal to provide the best
possible medical care for
residents of Forsyth County.
The meeting was between
the Forsyth County Hospital
Authority and the Forsyth
County Commission, a meet
ing requested by the author
ity hopefully to hear
commissioners say they
would reconsider earlier dis
cussion and allow the author
ity to pursue selling the
hospital to a private firm or
if not that hopefully to hear
commissioners say they
would support a bond resolu
tion for the authority to ex
pand the hospital on its own.
(See separate article).
In the end, the authority
heard both points from the
four commissioners present.
Either pursue selling the
hospital or let’s get a bond
resolution and expansion
program in the works.
“We’ll back you,” the four
commissioners told the au
thority.
Authority Chairman
Johnny Stone opened the dis
cussion by telling the com
missioners that “with the
possible exception of one
member,” the authority
feels selling the hospital is
“the best way.”
“We are not saying it (sell
ing) is the only alternative,”
Stone said, “but we’d like to
outline some points on why
we feel so.”
Hospital Administrator
Joe Brandon then outlined
some key points to be consid
ered and some major deci
sions that are going to have
to be made concerning the
From the Front
also must be zoned A (Agriculture).
The site selection process officially
began with the Jan. 31 meeting. The
engineering firm already has prepared
a tentative project schedule for finding
and selecting a landfill site. That sched
ule is as follows:
Feb. 17, first task force meeting,
and establishment of a site-ranking
system.
Feb. 21, second task force meeting
held. Information gathered on avail
able sites will be presented.
Feb. 28, W. L. Jorden will analyze
prospective sites, and the best five sites
will be determined.
March 7, W. L. Jorden will visit the
top sites, to verify cost and availability.
March 10, W. L. Jorden will pre
pare a cost analyses of the five top
From the Front
ran’s new 70-foot mobile home. The
residents felt drainage from the septic
tank, proposed to serve the new trailer,
would sink into the well, and pollute the
community water system.
“We not only have a problem with the
(zoning) section, but with water,” Van
derhoff said. “These are $30,000-$40,000
lots. These people built homes on them,
and are trying to protect their property
Circuit Bill
From the Front
The bill also would allow the state court judge to appoint
substitute judges himself. At present, the senior judge of the
superior court is required to appoint substitute judges for the
state court.
A bill providing tougher drunk driving laws passed the
House Wednesday, Feb. 2. Barnett said eight proposed
amendments to weaken the bill failed, while one amendment
making the bill tougher was passed.
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hospital.
“One thing we all agree
on,” Brandon said, “yes, we
need to put together dn ex
pansion program...secondly,
we need to do some more
renovation” at the hospital.
Hospital officials are hop
ing for a 39-bed expansion
program to bring the hos
pital bed count to 75 and
with that expansion would
come the requirement to
purchase additional land,
probably 15 to 20 acres,
Brandon said.
“The authority is com
mitted to an expansion pro
gram,” Brandon said, “and
we need to get it started.” He
pointed out it takes from one
to two years just to get the
preliminary paperwork and
various approvals com
pleted on such an expansion.
Studies have shown, “We
should be at 75 to 100 beds”
at the hospital by 1987,”
Brandon said.
Brandon said if AMI were
granted an option to pur
chase agreement, that “op
tion is to be exercised
somewhere down the road”
and that AMI would end up
paying a sum “very close”
to what the hospital is listed
for “on the books.”
“The other alternative the
authority is looking at,”
Brandon said, “is getting
back into running the hospi
tal ” and “reach an
agreement with the commis
sioners to issue more bonds
for expansion.”
The expansion program
proposed by AMI if it pur
chased the hospital would
amount to a maximum esti
mate of $6 million, Brandon
said.
Such an expansion, he ex
plained, would have to be
backed by a bond resolution
stating that the county com
mission would guarantee the
bonds and, in so doing, would
Landfill Site Search On
sites.
March 14, the task force will re
view the analyses and select the top
three sites.
March 15, W. L. Jorden will send a
preapplication to the Environmental
Protection Division on the top three
sites.
March 18, the Georgia Department
of Natural Resources (DNR) will re
view the pre-applications.
March 21, W. L. Jorden will pro
vide soil borings of the top three sites.
March 28, the DNR will prepare a
report based on the borings.
April 8, W. L. Jorden will provide
an environmental assessment on up to
three sites.
April 11, W. L. Jorden will recom
mend a site to the commissioners.
April 25, the county commission
Zoning Laws
values here.” He added that Cochran’s
proposed use of the 48-foot trailer for
storage, was not characteristic of the
lake area.
Vanderhoff also proposed that Coch
ran relocate his new 70-foot mobile
home on his old lot in the subdivision.
Cochran replied, however, that the sub
division lot was too small for the larger
mobile home.
Appeals Board Chairman Charles
agree to levy a tax not to
exceed 7 mills to cover the
bonds if the hospital should
be unable to repay them it
self.
“It is not a tax levy at that
time...just a guarantee,”
Brandon said.
Brandon also pointed out
that the hospital has “some
deadlines we have to meet”
in the first quarter of this
year. One is cost reports on
Medicare/Medicaid to be
completed by the end of
March. If they aren’t com
pleted, federal and state
funds will begin being de
ducted from the hospital’s
revenue. AMI has the per
sonnel to do those reports
and are committed to do
them under the management
contract, but “if they don’t
extend (the contract), they
won’t be there to do” the
reports and the hospital will
have to contract with some
one else to complete them.
An audit also is in the
process and involves a “lot
of intricacies...complicated
things.”
Brandon said Medicaid re
imbursement procedures
are proposed to be changed
this year and the hospital
stands to lose possibly SIOO,-
000 on Medicaid reimburse
ment alone, a loss that only
can be regained through the
paying patient.
Other considerations are a
retirement program and
other benefit packages for
hospital employees.
Brandon said he has
worked with both non-profit
and for-profit hospitals and
he feels private ownership
hospitals “is the thing of the
future.” -
“It is not a time for a small
hospital to go out on its
own,” Brandon said. “I
would personally recom
mend that the authority pur
sue the purchase option, if
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not with AMI with some
other firm.”
In response to a question
by Commissioner Jack Shoe
make, Stone said the price
AMI has offered for the hos
pital has “been the thing
discussed the most” and ex
plained that four other pri
vate firms have been
contacted to see if they were
interested in making an of
fer.
Shoemake said if a pur
chase option were granted to
AMI, he would like to see
some time limits set on when
AMI would have to exercise
the option after settlement of
the lawsuit currently pen
ding against the hospital.
“I am not against selling
it,” Shoemake said.
Glover said he also would
like to see something in writ
ing on when the option would
be exercised. “We’re inter
ested in the hospital going
forward.”
Stone then asked if the
commissioners would recon
sider their former decision
on not allowing the option to
purchase agree to be exe
cuted with AMI.
There was no response.
What is the feeling of the
Commissioners on issuing
bonds? Stone then asked.
“That’s a lot of money,”
Glover responded, “and a lot
of risk. It’s kinda scary to
me (especially) when we
might have other interests
(private firms) to come in
and take over the hospital
business (by building an
other hospital). I’d hate to
obligate the people to a tax
situation when we can keep
the service here without
it...l’m really worried about
the price, whether we’re
really getting the value for
the hospital.”
Glover said he also was
concerned about the “loose
ness” of the option to pur-
will select a site.
April 27, a site acceptability appli
cation will be submitted to the DNR.
May 13, the DNR will issue a site
acceptability letter, meaning the land
fill site has met state approval.
At this point, W. L. Jorden’s contract
will expire, and a professional engineer
will be needed to design the landfill.
Harbin said his firm also could provide
those services.
He said anyone with questions about
the landfill, or individuals who’d like to
recommend a site, should call W. L.
Jorden at 1-320-1001. The county is
looking for 50-100 acres.
Anyone wishing to serve on the task
force should call the commissioner’s
office, at 887-5923. Harbin said he hopes
all appointments to the task force will
be completed by Feb. 14.
Smith felt the board was bound by the
county’s zoning resolution to deny
Cochran’s variance. A motion to deny
the variance was approved 3-0. One
board member abstained.
In other business, the appeals board
granted a front yard variance of 15 feet
to Charles and Kim Boulware. The
Boulwares’ property is located on Set
tles Bridge Road, in an Agriculture
zone.
chase as first presented, that
the exercising of the option
could be strung out for six or
seven years and without an
expansion, “the hospital
would just about die by
then.”
“I’m interested in a fair
price and doing it as quickly
as possible,” Glover said.
In response to other ques
tions, it was pointed out that
the hospital could not be ex
panded by adding a second
floor because the current
foundation would not support
it, therefore, additional land
would have to be bought;
that all existing areas at the
hospital would be utilized
when an expansion was com
pleted; and that an indigent
care plan would be estab
lished to take care of For
syth County’s indigent
residents needing medical
Jobless Rate Jumps Slightly
Forsyth County’s unem
ployment rate climbed half a
percentage point during the
last month of 1982, the latest
month for which figures are
available.
Unemployment during De
cember reached 6.5 percent
in Forsyth County, an in
crease over November’s
rate of 6.0 percent, accord
ing to James Taylor of the
Georgia Department of La
bor office in Gainesville.
Garden Club
Gives Check
To Center
The Cumming Garden
Club has presented a check
to the Sawnee Association of
the Arts for the Community
Center Building Fund.
Marge Purnell and Mary
Stansell represented the gar
den club in making the pre
sentation to Hank Burzynski,
chairman of the building
fund.
“A Celebration” Home
and flower show held at the
courthouse and the home of
Dr. and Mrs. A.Y. Howell
was staged to commemorate
the Sesquicentennial of For
syth County in an effort to
raise funds for the building
program.
Fire Destroys
Forsyth Home
Stations 4 and 1 of the
Forsyth County Volunteer
Fire Department were
called to a house fire on
Georgia 20 west at 3:30 a.m.
Saturday morning.
Fire Chief Jake Moore
said the house was built
around a double-wide tra
iler. The structure was
owned by Jimmy and Linda
Henderson. It was rated a
total loss.
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THE FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS—WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1983—1
care.
Atwood Ledbetter then
asked, “If we don’t sell,
can’t we get with you on
bonds?”
There was no response.
Frank Smallwood then
asked, “If we don’t sell, will
you back the bonds...right
here and now...yes or no?”
Shoemake said he felt it
unfair that the commission
ers knew only one side the
sale price offer but didn’t
know what it would cost to
expand the hospital if the
county decided to keep it.
Smallwood then asked,
“Are you saying you will
back us (on bonds) or will
not back us, regardless of
what it costs. We’ve got to
have a first class facility
here and we don’t” have that
facility now.
“When the need is placed
Nearby Dawson County
also experienced an increase
in the jobless rate with 7
percent unemployment re
corded in December. Daw
son’s rate climbed from 5.9
percent in November.
Hall County experienced a
slight drop during December
to 10.1 percent from 10.2 per
cent in November.
Unemployment statewide
dropped slightly in Decem
ber, from a revised 8.1 per
cent in November to 7.9
during the last month of the
year.
During the month, Forsyth
County had 14,379 persons
employed with 1,007 unem
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in our lap (for the bonds),
I’m for it,” Glover said.
Whitmire said he had
rather see the county keep
the hospital and add on, but
would like to know what it
would cost to do that.
Authority member Bill
Thomas then reminded the
group that the purpose of the
meeting was to see if the
commission would back the
authority on the sale of
bonds.
Glover said his main res
ervations were whether the
price was fair that had been
offered by AMI. “It’s not
that I didn’t want never to
sell” the hospital. “To be
very frank, the county has
plenty of headaches without
the hospital.”
Hubbard then said he felt
the commissioners would
“work with you (the author-
ployed out of a labor force of
15,386.
' Dawson County during De
cember had 2,080 persons
employed with 156 unem
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ity) 100 percent...but, if we
get other bids by the fif
teenth, let’s sit down on the
fifteenth, go over the bids,
review costs for an expan
sion and “if we need bonds,
let’s do it.”
“I want us a better hospi
tal, to improve the hospital
and I don’t want to see the
people without one,” Hub
bard said.
“A commitment was made
(by the commission) in 1979
for a $2.4 million expansion
and I don’t see the commis
sion backing away now,”
Shoemake said. “If we have
to, we will back you.”
“I’ve heard three of you
say you’ll back us Mr.
Hubbard, Mr. Glover and
Mr. Shoemake,” Smallwood
said.
“I’ll back you,” Whitmire
chimed in.
2,236.
Hall County during the
same month had 32,964 per
sons employed with 3,720 un
employed out of a labor force
of 36,684.
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PAGE 7A