Hospital special election date set

Henry County voters will be asked to go back to the polls on March 2.

Auditor Shelly Barber told the Board of Supervisors Thursday morning that there is a special election scheduled for March 2.

'This will be the election for the hospital with the question that they are posing to the residents of the county,” Barber said.

In December, the Henry County Health Center's board of trustees approved a resolution to enter an operational lease with Burlington-based Great River.

That plan needs the approval of Henry County voters.

Absentee and early voting will run Feb. 1. Through March 1.

'It will be a countywide election, so I will probably be taking this room again and setting up for early voting,” Barber said, referring to the second-floor conference room in the Henry County Courthouse. 'It will be at the regular precincts on March 2. Polls will be open 7 a.m.-8 p.m.”

Barber said that Henry County Health Center hired a company to do public outreach and information for them.

'I expect there to be a lot of mail-outs with it being the time of year it is,” Barber said.

Under the proposed lease, Great River will take over operations and control of HCHC, subject to continued oversight of the Henry County hospital board.

The board will lease certain hospital assets and transfer operational assets to Great River, which will operate the facility. The elected HCHC board will stay in place and will collect rent from Great River as well as continue to levy taxes.

The board will be expected to use those tax funds to maintain, repair and replace hospital assets when needed. Should the rent and tax revenue not be enough to cover the costs, Great River has committed to taking on the shortfall and additional expenses.

Employees will remain under the health center and be leased to Great River, which will allow the staff to remain county employees and maintain various benefits including IPERS.

Great River has agreed to continue to maintain the health center's classification as a critical access hospital for a period of time and to continue clinical services for the next four years.

Great River has agreed to help maintain and stabilize the hospital's emergency medical services department, which the hospital had previously attempted to move to a county-run service. Under the agreement, Great River will subsidize shortfalls of the program, up to $1.68 million over five years.