The purpose of this letter is to stimulate thinking among the citizens of Cass County regarding the proposed integrated medical care complex to be located at the site of Ah-Gwah-Ching. This project is scheduled to be built in three phases over a 10-year period in the following sequence:
-- Phase I -- a senior housing and services campus with approximately 60 long-term care beds, 30 assisted living units and 30 independent living units.
-- Phase II -- an attached provider-based ambulatory center to house existing and new clinics (Dakota and MeritCare), outreach physicians, eye and dental offices.
-- Phase III -- up to a 25-bed inpatient hospital.
The cost estimate for this project as of March 2006 was $44 million-plus.
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This money will not come from the sky. It will come from us in the form of increased taxes (Medicare and Medical Assistance), increased insurance premiums, increased direct payments and possibly a taxing district.
We have three excellent hospitals which Cass County residents use, and the following shows the most recent data regarding percentage of admissions of Cass County residents: St. Joseph's in Brainerd at 34.37 percent; North Country in Bemidji at 22.17 percent; St. Joseph's in Park Rapids at 7.4 percent. The proposed 25-bed hospital will not be able to duplicate the state-of-the-art services these hospitals provide and will most likely dilute those services by reducing admissions and revenue.
I also question the "big box" approach to health care for our area. We have several long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities and independent senior apartments in the north half of Cass County and most of these have no waiting lists. Most of these are locally owned, are situated within city limits and are already a part of the community. I question the feasibility of 120 additional units at this time. If the population of senior citizens grows as projected, entrepreneurs will seize the opportunity as has happened in the past.
If you have concerns about this project, contact our senators and representatives in Washington, D.C., as they will be voting on a waiver to the existing law to build this hospital within 35 miles of an existing hospital (St. Joseph's in Park Rapids is less than 35 miles of the Ah-Gwah-Ching site). Also, talk to members of the local Critical Access Hospital Task Force, John Warren, chairman.
Kris Oppegaard
Walker
