Getting It Right-The Reasons that the Hospital Referendum Failed to Pass

August 30, 2007

By: Sid Riley

This column presents a non-partisan, conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items that are impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope that you will read the column regularly and that it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week:
"Several lessons can be learned by reviewing the reasons why the hospital referendum failed to pass."
We Just Can’t Afford It At This Time
In my opinion, one of the main reasons that the sales tax effort failed to pass is that in many, many instances tax payers are approaching the limits of their disposable funds. Would you rather have a new hospital, or be overdrawn at the bank?
Would you rather have a new hospital, or be more in default on your credit cards?
Would you rather have a new hospital, or be able to pay your ever increasing utility bills?
Would you rather have a new hospital, or be able to pay your exorbitant city water bill?
Would you rather have a new hospital, or be able to pay for your ridiculously high medicine?
Many tax payers are facing these issues each month, and have come to the point where they adamantly resist any new costs….especially in the form of new or higher taxes. With the soaring cost of property insurance, property taxes, gasoline, medicine, medical insurance, and other seemingly uncontrollable costs continually eroding the financial position of most citizens, the timing for proposing a new sales tax is about as bad as it could have been.
To our legislators and the bureaucracy this was a message that I hope they heard. The tax payers are reaching their limits!
A Real Need Does Not Exist.
A second reason that I feel the movement for a new hospital failed is that many people feel that the existing hospital is adequate in size, is in good condition and is clean and attractive, and is paid for! These people just did not see a REAL need for a new hospital.
In general this group is comprised of citizens who are satisfied with the hospital as it is. They see no real problems with the level of medical care available in our community.
Most of these people would agree that the existing emergency room does need to be larger and have increased capacity and staffing. They would also agree that improvements should be made in the OB delivery and post birth care facilities.
From this group the remark that the entire third floor is empty, so why do we need more space? Let’s use what we have before we begin building more.
Our hospital’s appearance is not unattractive. Tallahassee Memorial, Flowers, and several other area hospitals are in older facilities. The surrounding neighborhood is blighted, and perhaps some measures to clean up that area should be on the agenda. Also the main entrance roadway leading from Kelson (Water Street) to the hospital could be greatly improved and would improve our impressions as we drive to the hospital.
The Medical Community Doesn’t Deserve a New Hospital.
It appears that there is a fairly sizable contingent of citizens that have a "bone to pick" with our local medical establishment. This group voted against the new hospital out of revenge for mistreatment in the past. These are the people who feel that they were the victim of some uncaring physician who made them sit in their waiting room for hours when they had an appointment, or those who feel they received poor advice and care for a problem, or those who feel they were ignored or abused when they went to the emergency room. This vote was their chance to get even.
This fairly common negative attitude is the pent up resentment for actions of the medical community over the past twenty years. It should be a lesson learned. The medical community should engage in an ongoing effort to improve customer attitudes, opinions, and experiences.
From this group a common negative relating to the proposed new hospital was, "If we take a bad situation and put it in an expensive new building, it will not solve the problem. We will just have a bad problem in a new building."
They Should Not Have Started Spending Money Before It Was Approved!
When the hospital board decided to go ahead and hire project leaders and architects before the voters had given approval, it created a feeling of resentment among some people. They felt that they were being taken for granted by presupposing that the measure would pass.
Others felt it was a demonstration of poor management to potentially waste the large amounts of much needed monies that were involved in these pre construction expenditures. This spurred some of the undecided to vote "No".
The Indigents Voted "No"
An interesting concept that I heard one person propose was that the measure lost because the indigent, poor portion of the population voted against it. "They are already getting their medical care free, and a sales tax increase would only cost them money," they stated.
The hospital is already writing off over 4 million dollars per year in free medical services provided to the indigents that show up at the hospital door that by law must be treated since ours is a public hospital.
The new hospital would just make them move to a different emergency room waiting area…certainly not worth paying more sales taxes for. Also, for most of these people the new site would have been further from their homes.
Conclusion
I voted for the new hospital.
I did so after much analysis and soul searching. I am certainly not one to favor higher taxes. I would have felt much more comfortable voting for the issue if I had more positive proof that our area will experience a significant increase in population, and thus demand for medical services, in the coming decade. Also, if a positive use for the old facility was at hand so that we would not end up with even more empty buildings in Marianna, I would have been more positive on the issue.
The main reason that I voted "Yes" was because I do feel it would help us attract new, skilled, doctors to our hospital. This would give us more choices when it comes to dealing with those doctors that continue to behave like Medical Gods instead of caring physicians. The bad management – poor treatment issues can best be solved through more competition.
The issue will probably rise again within the next ten years. If they carefully review the mistakes of this failed campaign, and cover all of the bases before they start the game, "They Will Be Getting It Right".