Madison County seeks loan to build new hospital

April 23, 2009
By: Dominique Shaw
Your Capitol Bureau

The Madison County Memorial Hospital will hold a public meeting Monday (April 27) at noon in the hospital dining room. It’s to discuss the $22 million loan the hospital is seeking from the federal government to build a new Madison County Memorial Hospital.

Madison County got the “green light” from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make “formal application” for a $22 million loan.  The formal application will be submitted by the end of April. “It should take four months” to receive confirmation of the loan, said David Abercrombie, chief executive officer (CEO) of MCMH.

If all goes as local leaders hope, Abercrombie said the new MCMH could open in “22 months.”

The current MCMH building will be transferred to the Madison County school district to be used for administrative offices, Abercrombie said.

The new hospital will be built less than a half-mile from the current MCMH, adjacent to the North Florida Community College (NFCC), Abercrombie said. 

“It would be conveniently located for students enrolled in NFCC’s nursing program. Students’ would be able to conduct their clinicals,” said Howard Phillips, chairman of the MCMH board.

Abercrombie said the current hospital was built in 1954. The building has too many problems to simply renovate it, Abercrombie explained. It wouldn’t be cost effective.

Phillips said the old hospital building can’t be brought up to state codes set by the Agency for Health Care Administration.

Abercrombie said new medical technology has “maxed out” what the current hospital can handle. Also, he said, the work flow is very inefficient.  “With all the new machines, it’s like walking through a cramped maze,” Abercrombie said.

At MCMH, there are 79 full-time and 11 part-time staff members, and nine doctors with hospital privileges on staff, Abercrombie said. The new hospital will give the MCMH staff more room to work. 

In January 2007, Madison County began collecting a half-cent local-option sales tax to fund construction of the new MCMH. Abercrombie said the sales tax collects approximately $500,000 a year. This money will be used to pay off the hospital’s mortgage loan.