Publisher's Note: We do very much appreciate this fine article on the BRHS debacle from our friends at the Beaufort Observer. It is the opinion of this publisher that complete reporting and analysis of this controversial issue is unparalleled in scope.
Update
At a 3:00 p.m. press conference, Hospital Board Finance Committee Chair and County Commission representative on the Hospital Board Hood Richardson explained the CHS action and what he saw as the implications of what it means at this point for the process.
Among other things, Richardson explained that in his conversations with CHS representatives he believed the major reason for their withdrawal was the bad publicity and controversy in the community. about their proposal. He indicated that unnamed individuals in Beaufort County had contacted CHS officials and sought to convince them that there was extraordinary opposition against them coming to Beaufort County. CHS indicates in its letter that is chose not to expend its resources, which could be used elsewhere, in a fight in Beaufort County and mentioned the judicial entanglements as an additional reason for their retraction.
Richardson reviewed three of the proposals that the Negotiating Committee had considered and stated that in terms of the money involved that CHS had the best offer, assessed to be in the $60 million range for the County while LHP offered the second highest amount of money at an assessed net value of $56.5 million according to the analysis done by Hospital CFO Richard Reif (factoring the value of the property at $50 million as with the CHS estimate). The University Health Systems offer had been valued at a net to the County of $1.8 million with the property going to UHS at the end of the lease. Richardson reviewed those offers but indicated that now that CHS has withdrawn it will be necessary for the Hospital Board to now meet and consider the alternatives that are available or to seek additional offers. Richardson indicated that he had talked to Board Chair Alice Mills-Sadler and it was his understanding that she would be calling a Hospital board meeting as soon as practical to consider how to respond to CHS's withdrawal.
He also indicated that he expected, after having had a conversation with Commissioner Chairman Jerry Langley, that the Board of Commissioners would meet with their attorney tomorrow afternoon as originally scheduled to consider what the legal implications are of the CHS withdrawal.
In response to questions from the press, Richardson indicated that he assumed the reason he was contacted by CHS was because he had been involved in the negotiations with them as a member of the Negotiating Committee and they also wanted to contact a County Commissioner to advise them of the forthcoming letter. Richardson indicated that he wanted to get the word out as quickly as possible so he issued the press release immediately and held the press conference to answer questions. He did so after talking to both Chairman Langley and Chairwoman Alice Mills Sadler.
In response to a question of timing, Richardson indicated that it is true that the debt service payment is fast approaching and that if the law suit drags out the process that the Hospital Board and Commissioners would have to consider how they would keep from defaulting on the bond payment. He indicated that he did not foresee that happening any time soon but that if a solution is not found to the Hospital's cash flow situation that it could become a problem down the road.
Several questions were raised about what the process would be both from the perspective of the law suit and CHS's withdrawal. The responses were consistently that this would be determined after conferring with the attorneys for both the Hospital board and the County Commissioners.
Richardson did indicate that he felt the majority of the County Commission was not inclined to "give the Hospital away" and that he hoped other suitors, including UHS, would improve their offers. "Whether they will or not, we'll just have to wait and see."
Richardson said in a brief interview after the press conference that "I'm really disappointed that CHS withdrew because it represented more than 61 million dollars for the County. I view the data on the quality of health care from the three operations as depicting essentially equal quality of care. Even if the Commissioners had not been inclined to go with CHS we would have been in a much stronger negotiating position with them at the table. Now that they are out, the County is in a weaker position and I think that is a real shame."
