State grants hospital certification of need

Ada Bair, Memorial Hospital CEO, explained building plans for a new hospital Thursday, during a press conference.

Memorial Hospital has cleared two major hurdles in its path to building a new hospital on the edge of Carthage.

“On Dec. 4, the hospital received its Certificate of Need from the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, giving the hospital the green light to proceed with its plans that have been proposed for the new hospital campus,” said hospital CEO Ada Bair, at a press conference Thursday.

“The granting of this Certificate of Need allows us to proceed with the plans,” said Bair.

“When you build a new building, you go through an extensive process of submitting plans, budget and a statement of need,” Bair said. She spoke before the planning board on Dec. 4 which gave its unanimous approval for the CON.

The CON program was established by the Health Facilities Planning Act, and is designed to contain health care costs by preventing unnecessary construction or modification of health care facilities, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. All licensed and/or state-operated hospitals and health care facilities are subject to the Planning Act.

To obtain a permit for construction or modification of a health care facility, or the acquisition of major medical equipment, a person must justify that a proposed project is needed and financially and economically feasible, explains IDPH in its web site, www.idph.state.il.us.

Included in the application review are the opportunity for public comments and a public hearing that provides for community input into the process. Memorial Hospital held a series of community meetings throughout Hancock County to discuss the proposed project, and also solicited public questions, the answers to which were printed in the media.

The Planning Board is an independent five-member commission appointed by the Governor with Senate confirmation, according to IDPH. The issuance of a permit requires three affirmative votes. The secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services and the directors of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services and Department of Public Health serve as ex officio board non-voting members.

In addition to this approval, the governor must sign off on the project. Bair received word the same day that the project had been approved by the governor's office.

“This allows us to move forward, finishing the financing, and break ground we hope by March,” Bair said.

Further steps in the process are to have the first rounds of $10 million in construction bonds issued on Dec. 20. They will complete detailed building plans to establish a guaranteed maximum cost for the facility. The hospital has launched a $4 million capital campaign in the community.

“I am overwhelmed with the heart of Hancock County. We had a goal of $ 1 million by the end of the year. We have already had over $1 million in contributions and pledges,” Bair said. “People have seen the potential this facility means in terms of jobs, economy and the safety and well-being of the area.”

The total cost of the building would be $20 to $22 million including architec-tural fees, site work, equipment and moving expenses. She said construc-tion should take 10 to 14 months.

“We plan to hold a meeting allowing local vendors to get information about the plans if they want to bid as a subcontractor on the project,” Bair said. The Illinois Department of Health must approve the detailed plans before construction begins, and sign off when the work is completed before they can move in.

The new plan calls for 18 beds, seven less than the current hospital. Plans are designed to allow for the addition of those seven beds to 25, the maximum the hospital can have as a critical care access facility.

Memorial Hospital plans to build the new facility on property obtained east of the Carthage near the new Rt. 336 access.