Big Bear

Has anybody heard the rumor that Big Bear Valley Community Hospital is in big financial straits and may go bankrupt or close? I have only lived up here for 13 years and seem to hear this story every two years or so. Since it is managed privately maybe it is time they sold it to a reliable HMO for better management.

I know only what was reported, that income is down because of the horrid tourist winter. Fewer snowboarders = fewer patients. We need this hospital, so I hope the financial problems are not drastic. It is a vicious circle: Prices are higher because of fewer patients, then higher prices preclude HMO agreements. Too many residents on HMO's are forced to go long distances off the mountain for lab and other tests that our hospital provides so well. It is a great little hospital with a wonderful staff and many services, from our experiences.

mtngram yes we heard the same thing last year and befor that, seems to go up and down alot,,but last i heard they were doing ok, so thats good, and yes we need the hospital very badly,,
we couldnt get this kind of service anywhere down the hill thats for sure, i like the personal touch we get,, the winters with the people getting hurt , helps the hospital , sad for the people that get hurt, but that comes with the terriorty of snow or ice,, but as for closing , i heard that last year that there was possibly but not now, not as much in the red,,

Judging by the number of people in town this weekend, the Hospital may make up some lost revenue yet. Sad but true.

From:
http://www.bearvalleynews.com/bvn%202070208.htm

Hospital measure coming again soon



By Danielle Seckler



At the Bear Valley Community Hospital board meeting held on June 23rd, the hospital board voted 4-0 to place the ballot initiative on the ballot in November. Dr. Fagan abstained from voting; stating that the board was not listening to the voters and placing the bond on the ballot will cost more money for the hospital. The hospital has lost two ballot measures held in June of 2007 and 2008, in their effort to get hospital earthquake retrofitted and upgrades to the skilled nursing facility, emergency room, and laboratory. The bond dollar amounts have come down from the first ballot initiative; however that did not get the ballot measure passed this time around. They need 66-percent to pass a bond measure and most recently they came within three fourths of 1-percent of passing Measure Q.

During the discussion at the planning meeting before the board meeting, board member Carol Mulvihill asked it perhaps having only the mandatory earthquake retrofit on this bond measure and to later have the upgrades for the other facilities on a different bond measure. This was met with a resound “no” from Hospital CEO, Vi Colunga.

Another issue that Dr. Fagan brought up was the cost to the hospital for placing a bond measure on the ballot. Measure B in June 2007 cost about $56,000 and according to the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters (ROV) actual costs for Measure Q to the hospital will only be known about 60 days after an election. Further, it is unlikely that it will cost less for the June and November 2008. This would make an estimated cost to the hospital to place the bond measure on the ballot about $165-175,000.





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27 Votes Defeat Hospital Bond (Update)

By Michael P. Neufeld
Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Update — Monday 7:35 p.m.

Big Bear, CA — Measure Q, the $11.5 million bond issue for Bear Valley Hospital, was defeated by 27 votes according to the latest numbers released by the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters.

The final unaudited tally shows the yes votes were shy of the 66 percent required by state regulations to pass. The bonds received 65.27 percent approval to 34.73 percent in opposition.

MEASURE Q – BEAR VALLEY HOSPITAL DISTRICT

16 of 16 Precincts

DECISION VOTE PERCENT
YES
2,402

65.27%
NO
1,278

34.73%

Update

Big Bear, CA — Measure Q, the $11.5 million bond issue for Bear Valley Hospital, is just shy of the two-thirds majority needed for approval. So TODAY, all eyes will be on the 5 p.m. final tally to see if vote-by-mail and provcisional ballots will provide the extra votes necessary to issue the bonds.

(Photo by Registrar of Voters.)

The San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters reports there are vote by mail ballots that arrived after the pre-Election Day cutoff that will be included in TODAY'S tally.

The ballots were received prior to 8 p.m. on Election Day but were not included in previously announced tabulations.

Origional Story

Big Bear, CA – Directors of the Bear Valley Hospital District have to be scratching their collective heads this morning after Measure Q, the $11.5 million bond issue, barely missed the two-thirds majority vote for the second consecutive time.

In Tuesday's election, 64.75 percent of the voters voted to approve the bond package necessary to retrofit the hospital built in 1974. In a similar bond measure submitted to voters last year, roughly 65 percent of voters approved the measure also just shy of the two-thirds majority required by state law.

MEASURE Q – BEAR VALLEY HOSPITAL DISTRICT

16 of 16 Precincts

DECISION VOTE PERCENT
YES
2,035

64.75%
NO
1,108

35.25%

Measure Q was placed on the ballot again this year by the Bear Valley Community Healthcare District to secure $11.5 million in bonds to meet state mandated earthquake standards and remodel and refurbish certain sections of the facility.

The actual package to retrofit and upgrade the hospital would have cost about $15 million to complete. Hospital reserves were to be tapped to finance $3 million of the costs and the Bear Valley Hospital Auxiliary was set to chip in another $60,000.

Under Measure Q, had voters given their approval June 3, homeowners would have paid $7.23 to the district for every $100,000 of assessed valuation for a period of 30 years.

It is unclear how the hospital will now meet the state-imposed retrofit deadline by 2015.

Just prior to the election, Bear Valley Hospital CEO Vi Colunga told media representatives that the district would try to upgrade the facility with limited available resources if the measure didn't pass. Now Colunga and directors must go back to the drawing board to come up with a retrofit package acceptable to state officials.

This part is OK with me
To meet state mandated earthquake standards

This I have issues with
Remodel and refurbish certain sections of the facility.

They have been remodeling, adding and changing things it for years inside and now they must want to use that existing part of their budget for other things?

I would like to see a disclosure brake down of just the cost of the seismic retrofit only? They have a plan with a tag along list attached that includes remodeling and upgrades for the 11.5 million?

All hospitals are feeling the financial impact due the high volume patients without healthcare coverage and treating the increase illegal immigrant population as well.

Our local communities pay a supplemental tax for Mountain Community Hospital.