VMH hosting meetings in Allamakee County to discuss proposed City to County conversion

Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) staff and board members continue to visit each Allamakee County community to present and discuss the need to convert from a city-owned hospital to a county-owned hospital.  These sessions last less than an hour and will answer questions anyone may have about the proposed conversion of VMH from a city-owned to a county-owned hospital.  

The schedule for these county meetings, by date, is as follows:
• Waukon - Tuesday, October 25 at 6 p.m. in the Freedom Bank Community Room
• Postville - Tuesday, November 1 at 6 p.m. in the NEIA Wellness Center Meeting Room.

Anyone is welcome to attend these presentations, and question and answer sessions will follow each one. Questions such as the following will be covered at these meetings:
 

QUESTION: What if the conversion isn’t approved? Is the hospital in financial trouble?
ANSWER: Although the hospital won’t be in immediate “financial trouble,” it will face ongoing challenges to create enough bottom-line profit to sustain some existing programs. Appropriations will be essential to help fund specialty services, new equipment purchases, facility updates, and major capital investments.
To help put this in perspective, VMH is reimbursed for the healthcare services it provides. That reimbursement rate is just $0.52 on the dollar from insurance companies, and only $0.32 for Medicaid patients. Even though the cost of healthcare is high, low reimbursement rates keep VMH’s monthly profits at just slightly above break-even. This does not leave enough funds for critical infrastructure updates, major equipment purchases, or larger facility improvements, such as roofing and electrical updates.
For example, VMH would like to bring back much-needed services like chemotherapy and dialysis. Having programs like these - close to home - can make a real difference in the lives of  patients and their families. But the reality is, we simply don’t have enough margin to fully engage the growing number of services our patients need. County appropriations will allow VMH to make critical capital investments it would be challenged to fund on its own.
 

QUESTION:  Are there any other benefits to Allamakee County?
ANSWER: Local jobs are of paramount importance for the long-term health of any community; even more so in rural America. VMH helps drive the local economy in many ways:  
With more than 250 employees, from clinical, administrative and IT professionals, to housekeeping, food service and maintenance staff, VMH is one of the largest employers not only in Waukon but also in the county. When care stays local, jobs do, too. The regional economic impact of VMH’s payroll is approximately $50 million.

Detailed information and handout materials on the need for this city-to-county conversion will be shared at these community meetings.   Anyone is welcome to attend these presentations. All information is also available on the hospital’s website at www.veteransmemorialhospital.com/voteyes/.

A Facebook Live event is available for review by going to the VMH Facebook page. For additional information about the need for the city-to-county conversion, call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411.