HCCH Expansion Plan To Face Key Council Vote In Near Future

Bethany’s Board of Aldermen could take a vote next Monday on their support for a site plan offered by the Harrison County Community Hospital last week for a new hospital campus which would construct a new hospital and maintenance building on 38th Street just south of Bulldog Avenue. The support of the council will likely be a factor considered in an application being made by the hospital using USDA Rural Development Program funding to finance a cost estimated to be $62 million dollars.

Council members tabled any vote taken until either their next meeting on Monday, July 18th or Monday, August 15th and stated last week that they wished to hear from constituents they represent regarding their views on the move. Representatives from the hospital reviewed preliminary plans presented for the campus during last Monday’s meeting. Those plans included the necessity to bow the current 38th Street to the east so that more parking area can be included for the campus. Hospital representatives answered city council member concerns for the quality of the new potential new 38th Street road construction needed for the plan by stating that they intend to construct the new road at the same or better quality than the current construction. 38th Street is currently constructed to meet a high traffic volume and handle large vehicles.

Council members also stated the largest percentage of the cost to pay off the the project will not come from revenue they received from property tax received annually by county residents, but by Medicare reimbursement they receive by their designation as a Critical Access Hospital. The tax revenue received by Harrison County Community Hospital from property taxes amounts to 2.3 percent of the hospital’s entire $27 million dollar budget.

Hospital representatives feel the new site will also accommodate future expansion which may be necessary. The hospital representatives are estimating the addition of 20 more jobs with the proposal presented before the Bethany City Council.

The hospital would like to have their application submitted by September 30th. The USDA Rural Development financing would pay for 80 percent of the project. Revenue bonds would account for the other 20 percent of the financing.

Those who have input they would like to provide, be it positive or negative, to the Bethany City Council prior to a potential vote are urged to contact a council representative or Mayor Lance Johns.