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Doctors accept city's offer
City will own TRMC land, doctors will own operations
Published Thursday, April 30, 2009
The city of Troy soon will become the owner of Troy Regional Medical Center property once again.
As proposed by the Troy City Council, Troy Doctors Hospital LLC voted unanimously Thursday to allow the city’s established Health Care Authority to issue the real estate bonds. This would make the city the owner of the physical hospital property, and the doctors group will make lease payments and continue to own operations.
The total cost of the purchase will include the $10.5 million property costs, the $452,000 loan issued to repair the heating and cooling system and issuance costs.
Troy Mayor Jimmy Lunsford said the total would be repaid to the city as doctors make payments.
Eventually, Lunsford said the doctors would own the hospital in full after those payments are complete.
“It’s like buying a house, where you make payments and at the end of that time, the title is given to you,” Lunsford said.
Lunsford said he proposed this plan to give the doctors lower payments and to give the city a smoother transition in the event doctors require city assistance in owning operations.
“It’s going to be healthy for them, and they’ll certainly get the lowest interest rate available to them,” Lunsford said.
Gil McKenzie, hospital investor and member of the board of managers, said after reviewing all financing choices, the city’s offer was the best.
“Really in the interest of time, we looked at our options for financing, and from the information we had, it appears going with the city’s offer to do the sell/leaseback of the real estate was our best option,” McKenzie said. “So we voted to move forward with that subject to further due diligence.”
McKenzie said while the doctors will sell their ownership of the property to the city, they will still maintain all ownership of operations.
Before Thursday’s hospital board meeting, the city council met to extend the doctors’ time to obtain a letter of intent for long-term financing from Superior Bank. The council originally had asked hospital owners to submit this letter by April 30 as part of the extended agreement between the two, but the bank, to no fault of the doctors, was unable to issue the letter in time.
By Friday morning, Lunsford said the city will begin establishing the ownership through the Health Care Authority, but the entire process is expected to take two to three months.
Lunsford said Superior Bank, where the $10.5 million loan is established, and Troy Bank & Trust, where the air-conditioning loan is established, have agreed to extend the loans to doctors until the transition takes place.
No action is required by the Troy City Council to make this official, since it has already voted to establish the Health Care Authority for this purpose.
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Comments
Posted by Jack_Bauer (anonymous) on May 1, 2009 at 11:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Troy getting into the act and owning businesses - thank you! Just like the federal gov - socialism is great!
Posted by RobRoyCometh (anonymous) on May 1, 2009 at 3:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
First we have Obamanomics. Now, closer to home, we get Lumpynomics. King Lumpford has had his way - again! I still want to know where all the Hospital Tax money goes. And why Lumpy gets to keep sitting on the 18 Million from the previous sale of the hospital. Good luck doctors. You're going to need it! Bedding with vipers is dangerous business.
Posted by fairwind (anonymous) on May 1, 2009 at 5:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Will the city be given a waiver on property tax as other large employers are when they locate here?
Posted by uglydog65 (anonymous) on May 1, 2009 at 7:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I wonder if this has any thing to do with my health insurance going up $40.00 a month to day (?) that I have to pay out of my pocket. The deductible was doubled also.
Posted by OldSchoolPike3Worker (anonymous) on May 1, 2009 at 8:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It's like déjà vu all over again. Can we change the name back to Edge Memorial Hospital? Hey look on the bright side, at least the place will still smell they way that it did the last time the city owned it. That reminds me of the story of the patient that was having a stroke and went to the emergency room at Troy Regional. By the time he was seen by a doctor, the hospital had changed ownership twice. I digress.
Posted by septuagenarian (anonymous) on May 1, 2009 at 10:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Jack Bauer: Can you not read? The city owns the BUILDING. The city doesn't own the business. Have you ever heard of a city that DIDN'T own some buildings? Have your ever heard of a city that DIDN'T own some land? The City of Troy owns a BUILDING. Get over it. Big deal. That was the original plan, anyway.
Ugly Dog: I imagine the reason your insurance went up is the same reason everyone else's insurance has gone up: because there are too many people who DON'T work and who seek medical care at hospitals and DON'T PAY. Economics 101. Not difficult to understand.
RobRoyCometh: Your daddy wouldn't like to hear you calling our mayor "Lumpy," would he?
OldSchool: Let me tell you a story. Four years ago after having some major health problems and being referred to a specialist in Montgomery, I decided to have find an Internal Medicine doctor in Montgomery, too. Maybe I was blinded by those who thought healthcare was better the further North you traveled--I'm not sure. Well, about eight months into my newfound status as a patient of a Montgomery doctor, I found myself plagued with an illness on a Saturday evening. I called my doctor, told him my symptoms, and was told to go to the emergency room. Baptist South or Baptist East, because he admitted to both. I walked into the ER, signed in, took my little slip of paper waiting for my number to be called so I could "register," and saw a nurse walk to an eraseable board and write numbers. I realized that these numbers represented the number of hours I would wait before gaining entrance to the emergency room. 9 hours for non-urgent complaints. Well, I had an emergency, I thought, so surely they would see me immediately. When I was finally called in to have my vitals and my complaint taken, the nurse marked my chart "non-urgent." My goodness! I asked if this meant I would wait nine hours before seeing a doctor! Most likely, I was told, unless a lot of people in front of me decided to leave. That was the end of my seeking healthcare at the bigger and "better" facility. I hope you experience the same. And something else OldSchool--don't knock "Edge Memorial." Dr. Edge was a wonderful man. You must not be from here.
Once again, I sincerely believe that anyone who knocks this hospital has ulterior motives. Otherwise, they would be supportive of a facility that intends to provide good healthcare to our people. Where do you think you're going to end up when you get thrown into the back of an ambulance unconscious? Would you rather have promoted and built up the facility that will try to save your life, or would you rather have torn it down, so it is just a little remnant of what a hospital could be, like the one in Luverne?
Posted by uglydog65 (anonymous) on May 2, 2009 at 8:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I remember when Troy had 2 hospitals, so why not call it Beard-Edge Memorial. I remember my first of 3 trips to the emergency room in Troy, stopping on the way to work. I was given cough syrup for the flu. The second trip I got in fairly quick, apparently they don't want you bleeding all over the waiting room. The last trip I did not go but was carried. The Dr. (cost $500) said they could do nothing and was sent on to 2 other hospitals. It would have been a LOTS cheaper to go right on to the cemetery. That is where I am going to end up any-who.
Posted by OldSchoolPike3Worker (anonymous) on May 2, 2009 at 3:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
All I'm saying is if the hospital is so great, then why does it need to be sold every few years. It's not like there's competition across the road or anything. And I'll give you that, there is bad health care in Montgomery. But, you talk to 10 people on the street and ask them if they were given a choice would they choose to go to the hospital here, or in Montgomery. See what they tell you. It is the one time that I may be unconscious and thrown on the back of an ambulance that I'm talking about. I once knew a woman that was so afraid that she would be taken to the Edge of Death while being unconscious, that she had the words "TAKE ME TO MONTGOMERY" tattooed across her chest. As time went on and gravity took its toll, the words stretched so much that they became unreadable. Now she just wears a medic alert bracelet and has an abstract tattoo. She says it like a visual Doppler Effect on her chest.
Posted by srenee (anonymous) on May 2, 2009 at 11:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
None of your know what you talking about. Troy is not a bad hospital. No hospital is Perfect!! So some of you have had a bad experience in Troy. I can gurantee you that there are just as many and more that have had bad experiences in other hospitals too!! As far as financial problems, many hospitals along with many others are having financial difficulties these days. It has nothing to do with the facility , the doctors nor the nurses. I have had family at other hospitals and the care is just not the same. You are simply a number and not a person. I was with my family once in a hospital in Montgomery from around 2;00 one afternoon until the next morning and only saw a nurse once while there. They had some good nurses at Troy and still have a few good ones left and with time, they will hopefully be fully staffed back where it was several years ago. They have people there that area compassionate and treat you like you are family. I for one am tired of all the negative comments that I am seeing and hearing about this hospital. You all need to be thanking the Lord above that we have this wonderful hospital in Troy!! I feel that this is what is wrong with many of you and many other people in the world now days is that we do not have God in our hearts ! Well, you all better wake up and become more knowledgeable of life and stop all the bickering becasue I for one am tired of it!! Just be thankful that the company that is running Luverne Hospital is not running Troy hospital. ( they do not pay their bills!!) The doctors along with administration, team leaders, nurses and other hospital employees are doing everything they can to make this hospital survive. I for one know they will!! oh and for the one that keeps making negative comments about the mayor; well he only wants what is best for the hospital also especially since his wife works there. So leave him alone!!
Tired of this all!!!!
Posted by vtach82 (anonymous) on May 3, 2009 at 5:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Does the hosital in Luverne pay their employees or do they too issue rubber checks?? Also, did the hospital in Luverne pass state and Joint commission inspections that insure that quality care is given to their patients? If i'm not mistaken we did not pass or were isssued a probation status and expect another visit anyday. What happens if we don't pass it this time, which is likely since they laid off everyone or reassigned those that were assigned to making sure we met those minimum standards. I am looking to get out ASAP, I just don't have a warm feeling - Ive tried.
Posted by septuagenarian (anonymous) on May 3, 2009 at 10:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Vtach82: Did you really have a paycheck that bounced? When? What is your association with the hospital?
Posted by RobRoyCometh (anonymous) on May 4, 2009 at 7:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Septuagenarian a.k.a. "Self Appointed Board Monitor", There is no doubt that you once enjoyed the status of Hall Monitor in elementary school and now wish to add Comment Board Monitor to your resume. You must have gotten a big kick out of taking all those names and tattling them to the teacher. Is that really the first you have heard of paychecks bouncing - or not being issued at all? You really don't know much about anything do you. Not only that but you are pretty terrible at trying to pretend you know who's who by their posts. My daddy doesn't even know who Lumpkin is. Now, what about those tax dollars Seppy? You got an answer for that one?
Posted by srenee (anonymous) on May 6, 2009 at 10:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
In response to VTach. No,Luverne has not issued rubber checks, but neither did Troy. Luverne has had times where they wondered if they were going to have the money to meet payroll .If you are employed by Troy hospital which obviously you are, then you need to leave immedialty!! They do not need employees like you!! They did have their Joint Commission inspection, but just becasue their I's were not dotted correctly, or an abbreviation was done incorrectly, does not have anything to do with the patient care they are providing. If you feel the patient care is so bad, then go to Montgomery; I have been there with family and as an employee! Luverne had there first state inpection a couple of years ago and they failed twice!!It was no secret!! Anyone could have viewed there problems online. They stil have issues and maybe they do pay their employees, but they do not pay their bills! Luverne presenty has several lawsuits against them to collect money.They have a physician working in the ER that is not Board Certified, but you cannot say that about Troy. If you like Luverne so much, then maybe you can go over there and work. You might just fit in just right with them. Troy was given a "bum rap" when they were owned by Attentus. That is where their problems started. Not with the Doctors. There are some really good people working at Troy and they are trying to "rebuild" the trust needed to make this hospital as success,but they certainly do not need people like you working for them. so please do them a favor and get out as you said ASAP!!
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