New VA clinic discussed during ECHD meeting
The proposed $257.1 million capital and operating budget for 2012 was approved unanimously by the board of the Ector County Hospital District during a Thursday meeting in the Medical Center Hospital auditorium.
There was no public comment during the public hearing on the budget and no changes were made to the proposed budget, Chief Financial Officer Robert Abernethy said.
During the meeting the issue of a veterans affairs outreach clinic was addressed by Associate Administrator Carol Durham and Administrative Resident John O’Hearn.
After being approached by the Department of Veterans Affairs last summer about moving from their current clinic location in the Permian Basin, the board decided to approve the resolution in their meeting.
Although starting construction is dependent on the VA’s acceptance of the district’s officer, selection of appropriate architects, approval of the final bid and construction documents and reviewing the source of funding, O’Hearn said.
The 15,000 square foot Community Based Outpatient Clinic would be leased out of a 30,000 square foot medical office building adjacent to the Center for Health and Wellness, O’Hearn said.
“There is the possibility of increasing diagnostic and therapeutic services at the Center for Health and Wellness,” O’Hearn said.
The project will be built using a maximum amount of $8 million in hospital reserves, O’Hearn said.
And starting with the 2013 fiscal year budget the administration will designate $1,625,000 from capital funds for five years to replenish the reserve funds, O’Hearn said.
After two public hearings the proposed ad valorem tax rate, or property tax, was approved unanimously by the board.
The proposed rate was $0.052081 cents per $100 valuation and is lower than the 2010 rate of $0.055201 per $100 valuation, dropping the average homeowner’s amount from $55.78 to $54.18.
While the next year’s budget and ad valorem tax rate have been approved, the formal proposal for the outreach clinic will be submitted by Friday, CEO Bill Webster said.
And should the proposal go through, a bigger facility and additional services will be available to residents, Durham said.
“(It will) give them the building they deserve,” O’Hearn said.
In other action the board:
- Unanimously approved the TEAM Share Employee Incentive Plan for Fiscal Year 2012.
