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DHS says 'no' to Columbia River Community Hospital
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ST. HELENS— The state's denial of the Columbia River Community Hospital certificate of need has left the Columbia Health District Board reeling, according to Board Chair Jay Tappan.
On Oct. 22, the Department of Human Services announced a preliminary denial of the district’s certificate of need for the 12-bed Columbia River Community Hospital.
Grant Higginson, M.D., M.P.H, and reviewers of the Certificate of Need application expressed concern that the new hospital would draw enough physicians and providers to adequately staff the hospital, secure and maintain an adequate revenue stream to be viable, and that the limited hospital facilities would not decrease the number of ambulance transports to hospitals in Portland and Longview.
Another factor in the denial is a perceived need for greater primary care, according to Higginson.
“The public told us that primary care is the most important need of the community,” he said. “While the health district was able to show the need for a limited number of new hospital beds, the increased cost to patients because of having to use an emergency department rather than an urgent care center might actually reduce access to care, particularly for low-income individuals,” he said.
This denial is not yet final. The applicants, or affected parties, may request an informal hearing by Nov. 2, 2009.
The news comes as a blow to the Columbia Health District’s hospital project coordinators and the district’s board, including Board Chair Jay Tappan, who released this prepared statement on Oct. 23, 2009:
The Board of Directors and the staff of the Columbia Health District are very deeply disappointed in the State of Oregon Public Health Division’s decision yesterday to deny the Certificate of Need for the new Columbia River Hospital that was planned for the south Columbia County area. Over a period of years, the Health District has very carefully and thoughtfully proceeded with this much-needed enhancement to Columbia County’s health structure. Beginning in 2001, we started a health improvement survey that asked the citizens what they wanted for health care improvement, and they overwhelmingly said they wanted a 24-hour, seven days-a-week facility that involved emergency services and care. Accordingly, the Board moved forward and asked the voters for approval and funding to pursue a small, critical access hospital.
That vote, in November of 2004, was passed by a large margin and we began the long and arduous process of finding land and engaging architects to help us design a small, appropriately sized hospital with an emergency room, a laboratory, beds for short-term stays and other services found in similarly sized facilities. We also started the Certificate of Need process. We found that we could not apply for that certificate until we had secured the land which we were successful in doing following a lengthy search. So, all the elements were finally in place this past summer to begin construction on this facility and we only needed the State’s go-ahead on the Certificate of Need, which was a lengthy process in itself.
We find it hard to believe that a State agency could kill a project that is so clearly needed in this under-served County, that has been so long in the planning, that has been so carefully researched, and that has been approved by the citizens at the ballot box. In this time of such great discussion and concern for health care, it is unconscionable that the State of Oregon’s Public Health Division, an arm of the State government that is charged with increasing the quality and availability of health care to the citizens of Oregon, could so callously and summarily deny this very worthy project.
Scappoose resident and Columbia County Commissioner Rita Bernhard has, as an individual, supported the hospital project, and said that she is disappointed in the decision.
“The decision [of] what to do next has to come from [the health district board],” Bernhard said. “I think there’s a lot more questions than answers right now.”
Not everyone is disappointed in this outcome, or surprised.
In the past five years, Deer Island resident Tammy Maygra has attended county commission meetings and spoken out about issues surrounding the hospital project. She was just one individual who questioned the district’s use of a tax of $.38 per $1,000 in assessed value, a tax that was levied in 2004 to provide funding for construction and operation of a hospital in South Columbia County. She has also questioned how many individuals would willingly go to the Columbia River Community Hospital in an emergency.
“I’m just really happy that the state has listened to the testimony presented at the hearings and listened to the people,” Maygra said on Oct. 23.
The health district is considering their options.
According to Jay Tappan, Columbia Health District Board Chair, an emergency meeting will be held this week, on Oct. 28, at 5:30 in the Columbia Learning Center. During this meeting, the board will discuss their options and whether or not to consider an appeal.
Last year, the health district secured land for the proposed hospital in a three-way land swap with the City of St. Helens and the St. Helens School District. Earlier this year, the district began property improvements at the site, 35311 Millard Road.
A copy of the proposed order is available here
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