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THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2009
TWO NEW PATROL CARS
The City of Arcade has two new patrol cars painted
in the traditional white and black pattern. Police chief
Randy Williams said he wanted this design so that chil
dren and adults alike would recognize the vehicles as
patrol cars.
Man airlifted after wreck
Old building gets new home in Hoschton
MOVING DAY
House mover David Looper moves the Jim Darby building
from Ga. Hwy. 332 to its new spot in downtown Hoschton,
near a city playground. Photo by Kerri Testement
WILLIAM DAWSON, 48,
Athens, was airlifted to Atlanta
Medical Center on Thursday
afternoon, Jan. 15, following a
two-vehicle rear-end collision
on Highway 441 in Center.
Dawson, traveling north on
Highway 441 in a 1986 Toyota
Tercel, was unable to stop for
a 2007 Toyota Tundra pickup
stopped for the red light at
Highway 334 in Center accord
ing to troopers with the Georgia
State Patrol. Dawson’s car struck
the pickup in the rear trapping
Dawson inside.
Jackson County Emergency
Services Director Steve Nichols
said Dawson suffered multiple
injuries including head trauma.
Nicholson Fire and Rescue per
sonnel extricated Dawson from
the wreckage and was flown by
Life Flight to Atlanta Medical
Center for treatment.
The driver of the Tundra,
John Baxter, 60, Gainesville,
was transported to BJC Medical
Center for treatment of his inju
ries.
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
THE CENTURY-old build
ing may have sat quietly tucked
behind a church for years, but its
new resting spot gives the Darby
building one of Hoschton’s most
visible locations.
The single-room structure was
slowly moved from the Hoschton
Church of God of Prophecy on
Ga. Hwy. 332 on Tuesday morn
ing to a spot near a city play
ground in downtown Hoschton
— not too far from the depot.
That area — now called the
Hoschton Historic Commons —
is where the city’s historic com
mission will restore the Darby
building.
The five-member commis
sion has enlisted Sue Rylee —
a contractor whose historical
renovation work includes struc
tures at Hurricane Shoals Park
in Jackson County — to revamp
the Darby building.
“I think you have to have a
deep-seeded love for old things
and preservation of old things,”
Rylee said. “I think anything’s
worth keeping, if it’s still stand
ing, anyway.”
While it isn’t exactly known
when the Darby building was
built, estimates place its con
struction in the early 1900s.
That’s when the building was
once located in the city square,
situated across Ga. Hwy. 53 from
its new spot in the Hoschton
Historic Commons.
The building’s namesake
— Jim Darby — once operated
a shop in the facility, where he
worked on guns, repaired furni
ture and made violins. He was
also known for playing checkers
outside of the building.
When Ben Frank Wilson later
rented the building, city council
meetings were held there. Wilson
also did bookkeeping and main
tained his insurance company in
the building, according to histor
ical commission member Ralph
Freeman Jr.
Later, a church held some
of its programs in the building
before it was moved out of the
city square.
The Hoschton Historic
Commission spent three years
raising $15,000 to move the
building and renovate it. The ini
tial renovation work will focus
on the building’s exterior.
And with the building dating
back a century, renovation of the
structure will be a balance of his
torical preservation and modem
standards.
“Obviously, you have to
associate modem-time codes
— which we have to do for
safety — with trying to match it
up with the kind of construction
that they did at the time,” Rylee
said.
Some of the wood on the
building will have to be replaced,
but modem wood isn’t as strong
as the wood from a century
ago, Rylee said. The wood was
removed after bees nested in the
building.
Also, one side of the building
was never painted while it was in
the city square, she added.
Renovation work will depend
on favorable weather condi
tions, according to historical
commission member Dianne
Blankenship.
The commission plans to con
tinue raising funds for renovat
ing the building. No city funds
will be used on the project.
“This is going to be a really
good project,” Rylee said. “Our
problem here is trying to get it
where we need it with the amount
of money that they have.”
But the building’s new spot
in the heart of the city may be
its best chances of raising funds
for the renovation project, she
added.
The Hoschton Historic
Commission hasn’t decided how
to use the building when renova
tions are completed, but ideas
have included a “mercantile” or
museum.
The Hoschton Historic
Commons may also include
other buildings and artifacts
from the city’s past, Blankenship
said.
BJC layoffs cont’d from JA
“The initiative is to reduce our
operating expenditures by an
amount equal to 20 percent of
our expenditures for the first six
months of the year,” explained
CEO Jim Yarborough. He called
the experience “the most dif
ficult time in my 30 years” and
said the decisions “were the
most difficult I’ve ever had to
make.”
It was more difficult for
employees, most of whom had
no warning until they were sum
moned to meetings attended by
Leadbetter, Marilyn Anglin,
director of human resources;
and their department manager.
Leadbetter explained the reason
for the layoffs, employees were
handed a severance notice and a
last paycheck, informed of the
potential for filing for unem
ployment compensation, told to
turn their badges in and escorted
out of the facility.
No severance packages were
offered.
The layoffs were across the
board in the hospital and nurs
ing facility, but most heavily in
managerial roles, as opposed to
patient care, Yarborough said.
Senior management met with
all department managers to
determine how to achieve the
20 percent cost reduction “with
minimal or no impact on the
quality of service,” Yarborough
said.
“Our volumes, patient vis
its, admissions, radiology pro
cedures, lab procedures, etc.,
are down,” the CEO continued.
“When you look at the down
turn in the overall work load, we
should be able to do that work
with less people.
“We focused on the expens
es of each department, and of
course a big part of the expense
is always staff, so staff is a big
part of the reduction. I can’t
overemphasize how difficult the
decisions have been.”
Management had been on
four-day weeks (with commis
erate reduction in pay) since
August, said Henry Slocum,
among those laid off in spite
of 48 years of service with the
hospital.
Other measures aimed at
reducing costs or increasing
income were also instituted or
are being considered.
The facility implemented a
“point of service” collection
system designed to trim bad
debt in the emergency room
that Leadbetter estimates will
improve cash flow by $300,000
annually. It terminated some
contracts and entered others, has
begun serious discussions with a
firm to get a “temporary general
surgeon,” one of the key vacant
staff positions; and is consider
ing the creation of an acute/
urgent care clinic to provide
an alternative to the emergency
room for non-emergency care.
At Monday’s meeting, the
board voted to give its finance
and credentials committees the
authority to act if the company’s
prospect for the general sur
geon accepts the job. Officials
have asked for historical data
on surgeries, numbers on out
migration of patients to other
hospitals and toured the avail
able offices.
“I think this holds a lot of
promise,” said Blair.
In other business, the board
voted to renew $1.5 million
in loans with Freedom Bank
and First Commerce Bank and
to acquire a $500,000 line of
credit with Community Bank
and Trust.
According to a news release,
last year BJC Medical Center
provided more than $1.3 million
in charity care and had bad debts
of more than $5 million — and
the trends are worsening.
NEGA files appeal in ongoing hospital court battle
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
NORTHEAST Georgia Health
System has filed its request for
an appeal to a judge’s decision
regarding its proposed hospital in
Braselton.
The Gainesville-based health
system filed paperwork by a Jan.
14 deadline with the Georgia
Court of Appeals seeking a review
of a Dec. 15 decision by Superior
Court Judge Bob Adamson.
Adamson favored a request
by Barrow Regional Medical
Center that challenged the state’s
granting of a Certificate of Need
(CON) to Northeast Georgia for a
new 100-bed hospital in Braselton
on Thompson Mill Road, near
Chateau Elan.
In November, attorneys for both
hospitals presented their cases
during a hearing with Adamson
in a Barrow County courtroom.
Adamson retired on Dec. 31.
In his ruling, Adamson said
the state’s review process of the
CON application had been “arbi
trary and unreasonable” and that
the events leading to the state
granting a CON for the Braselton
facility had not been handled cor
rectly.
Adamson also said the state’s
process “was without adequate”
review and “recklessly” assumed
fast growth in the North Georgia
area would be enough to support
the hospitals’ business plans.
However, attorneys for
Northeast Georgia contend in the
health system’s request for appeal
that the state’s approval of a CON
was “the result of a full and thor
ough administrative review and
appeal process.”
The Gainesville health system
also says the Barrow County
court “improperly engaged in
health planning” when its ruling
reversed the state’s decision to
approve the CON application for
the Braselton facility.
“Yet, the Barrow Court, acting
in favor of a local Barrow County
opposing hospital, reversed the
results of the entire administra
tive review and appeal process,”
Northeast Georgia’s attorneys
wrote in a court document.
Barrow Regional has also con
tended that opening a new hospi
tal 11 miles from its Winder facil
ity would have a major economic
impact.
Northeast Georgia claims
the Georgia Department of
Community Health — which
reviews CON applications
— conducted two adverse impact
studies of the proposed Braselton
hospital.
Not accounting for future pop
ulation growth, one study showed
a reduction of four percent of
Barrow Regional’s inpatient
totals.
A second study — that includ
ed population growth — showed
that Barrow Regional would not
be impacted by the Braselton
hospital, according to the court
petition.
Barrow Regional also says in
court documents that Northeast
Georgia should have submitted a
new CON application when it no
longer viewed the Braselton hos
pital as a “replacement” facility
for closing Lanier Park hospital
in Gainesville.
Northeast Georgia submitted its
CON application in 2006, when
the health system was planning
to close the 96-bed Lanier Park
hospital. In its CON application,
the Braselton hospital was con
sidered a “replacement” facility.
During a state-mandated hear
ing in February 2007, Northeast
Georgia says the DCH said it
didn’t consider the Braselton
hospital a “replacement” facil
ity — regardless whether Lanier
Park was closed. The DCH also
said there was a need for 127
hospital beds in South Hall, court
documents say.
Barrow Regional asked for a
judicial review in March 2008.
Judge Adamson issued his ruling
in December 2008.
Barrow Regional has 10
days from the date of filing of
the appeal application to file a
response.
The court of appeals is expect
ed to issue an order granting or
denying the appeal applications
within 30 days, or by Feb. 13.
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COMMERCE
MEDICAL
CENTER
ANNOUNCEMENT
to
our
BJC Medical Center would like
announce the implementation of
new Point of Service Collection
Policy. This policy states that ALL co
payments, deductibles, and self-pay
accounts will be due and payable at the
time services are rendered unless prior
arrangements for payment have been
made with the Patient Financial
Counselor located in the hospital busi
ness office (706) 335-1127.
For your convenience, we gladly accept Cash, Visa,
MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Money Or
ders and Persona! Checks.
“ We Treat you Like Family ”
BJC Medical Center
(706)335-1127
www. bjcmc. org