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New Hospital Lexington asked to VOTE Yes For Lexington residents, the November 6 election may go down as the "pocketbook" election. Voters will conscientiously consider their wallets on issues like a 73 cent tax increase on a pack of cigarettes, two presidential candidates with polar opposite views on tax and spend, and a levy that asks for 67 cents per $100 on assessed property values for a new hospital. The City of Lexington is responsible for $4 million, 10 percent of the proposed $40 million hospital. Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), which manages the hospital, is responsible for another $4 million and the USDA and private financing will fund the rest. The measure must pass by 57 percent of the voters. Proponents of the new hospital will quickly spout benefits the new hospital will bring not only to Lexington but to Lafayette County. Opponents of the levy will tell you to read their lips, "No new taxes." "We pay too many taxes now in this small town," one resident writes in response to a survey that is circulating about the new hospital. "We are not a rich community and if you keep raising taxes people are going to move away and no new people will want to move here." Lafayette Regional Health Center (LRHC) is a 62-year-old facility. If you ask anyone on staff, they'll tell you that although the building is well- maintained, it's time for a new one. "The guts of this building have been well cared for but it's just tired and old," said Darrel Box, LRHC's vice president of operations. "It's like having an older car that you have to service every month just to keep it going." The notion to build a new hospital came about roughly six years ago when Tom Hayes was Lexington's mayor. "We knew it was a matter of time before the hospital aged-out," said LRHC CEO Bret Kolman. "You can't continue to effectively operate a hospital with infrastructure based on 1950's health care." But opponents of the new hospital disagree. "HCA is a very profitable company," another survey respondent writes. "Why should citizens have to pay for a for-profit business?" LRHC is owned by the City of Lexington and not by HCA, which is a medical management group. According to Healthy Community, Healthy Economy (HCHE), the committee working to pass the levy, the new hospital will continue to be owned by the city. This means revenues stay in Lexington. HCHE also says the hospital will be governed by a local, qualified board of directors appointed by the City Council. "It's your hospital, you own it, and you control it," Kolman said. "It's a community asset as valuable as a church, school, or community center. It's something you can be proud of that will change the perception of Lexington." As for costs to Lexington citizens, Kolman breaks down the numbers. "If you look at what it costs the average citizen a day, you are getting a hospital for 25 cents a day. If having an ER in your backyard and having great health care isn't worth 25 cents a day, then you probably haven't needed health care." As for those who need health care, Kolman said that LRHC is the largest health care provider to the uninsured. "Our clinics have a sliding fee scale," he said, "and our hospital provides discounted care or care at no cost to those who meet poverty guidelines." He said the emergency room sees almost 9,000 patients per year, with about 1,000 of those visits from the uninsured. The new hospital is projected to assume over 10,000 ER visits annually. "Without us, how far will a person have to go to an ER when time is critical?" Construction jobs are also among the benefits the new hospital promises. When asked how residents will benefit who are not construction workers, Kolman said the dollars lift Lexington's economy in many ways. "Some of the dollars will be spent on lodging, food, clothing and fuel," he said. "We have also made a commitment to use local contractors and local services to the greatest extent that we can. Businesses will have income and exposure that they wouldn't otherwise have. And even if the new job creation doesn't affect you, it probably affects someone you know and love." State Representative Joe Aull, who is also the vice president of academic affairs at Wentworth agrees. "This is a great opportunity to assure that our community will have quality services that establish Lexington as the health care hub of a large rural area," Aull said. "Also, this project could be the catalyst to encourage economic development, while making our town very attractive to potential new residents." According to HCHE, the new hospital will increase by 20,000 feet, have a state-of-the-art design with upgraded telehealth services and easy highway access. Also, the new facility will add or provide services in areas such as cardiology, pulmonology, orthopedics, pain clinics, oncology, dermatology, rheumatology, obstetrics and gastroenterology. Lafayette County, designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA), has struggled with attracting and recruiting physicians and specialists to the area. With one-third of the hospital's medical staff over 65 years of age, proponents say it's time to position for the future. "The new hospital provides us the opportunity to have a medical residency program to train other physicians in rural medicine," Kolman said. "It's a game changer for Lexington."

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