Hospital Authority, County Commission Holding Joint Meeting Tonight

The Stephens County Hospital Authority and Stephens County Commission will meet tonight for a called meeting.

Both boards announced the called meeting on Monday.

Stephens County Hospital Administrator Lynne Anderson said the meeting is to allow the Hospital Authority to present a bond proposal for the county to consider backing the hospital on.

“We have been talking with the county about backing some bonds for us,” said Anderson. “They have done that in the past. We have identified some needs for some new bonds and we have been talking with them about backing us for some new bonds that would also re-finance the existing $3.8 million in bonds that we have outstanding now.”

When the Hospital Authority met with county commissioners last October to discuss the hospital’s financial situation, the possibility of bonds was raised as a way to fund needed expenditures that could help generate additional revenue for the hospital down the road.

Anderson said that in the months since that meeting, the hospital has identified several areas where it could use bond funding to make improvements.

“We have identified some needs for physician’s office space, some additional or new radiology equipment, some information technology needs that we have,” said Anderson. “Those are all capital improvements. We have a couple of things we need to do in the hospital building, like air handlers to help us with our HVAC. Those are capital needs we will be asking them to consider.”

Tonight’s called meeting of the Stephens County Commission and the Stephens County Hospital Authority is set for 7:30 p.m. at the historic Stephens County Courthouse in downtown Toccoa.