Funds from village help OMH out of critical position
Funds from village help OMH out of critical position
Ontonagon awards $50,000
By LAURA KIRBY, DMG Writer
ONTONAGON — By the time the Ontonagon Memorial Hospital’s board of directors meets Thursday to decide how to scramble their way out of a bleak financial future, they could already have pocketed $50,000 to help hire a consulting firm and implement a plan to slash expenses.
The endowment from village government awarded Monday should help bail OMH out of a “dire financial position” for now, and kick-start financial recovery, board members say.
Chairman John Cane made a personal appeal in front of the council during a meeting to request the sum, and an additional $50,000 loan to recover from debt that has left the hospital able to cover only the next three pay periods.
Increasing expenses, a falling rate of specialty care and costly accounting mistakes have been blamed for a $1.2 million loss over the course of the year, and an average loss of $100,000 per month for the village-owned facility.
Staff are concerned about shift, hour and benefit changes, which are planned as part of last ditch attempts to boost revenues and slash expenses. Immediate measures will help the hospital stretch salaries beyond the three months already covered, administrator Fred Nelson said during a board of directors meeting Wednesday.
The additional $50,000 award from the village will help pay up to $10,000 for a consulting company, an expense that should be worth it in the long run, Cane noted.
“This will allow us to string this out ... and help us make these changes,” he said. “These people are experts, they charge like experts.”
Monies awarded to OHM will be redirected from some $75,000 allocated yearly to fund sewer system long term debt. The system was previously funded through the general budget, but the sum has been freed up after village sewer rates were raised early this year, making the system self-sufficient.
Village manager Penny Hill said she also plans to meet with municipal bond attorney Donald Keim at Miller Canfield law firm to seek advice on the village’s position and responsibilities with regard to the hospital, as well as “what impact it could have on the village.” The request for an additional $50,000 loan will be considered.
The hospital board of directors will meet at 5.30 p.m. Thursday in the facility’s long term care unit.
Laura Kirby can be reached at lkirby@mininggazette.com
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