A special meeting of the Three Rivers Health Authority Board that had been scheduled for Thursday morning (May 7th) was canceled by Board Chairman Larry Clark.

The board set the meeting during its regular meeting on April 30th with the understanding that it would NOT be held if the two-mill tax levy that was on the ballot in Tuesday’s election was approved.  That didn’t happen as nearly 63 percent of the 2,165 voters who participated in the balloting voted “no.”

During an interview with the River Country Journal, Clark said he canceled the meeting after being made aware early Wednesday “about the budget determinations the state was trying to make and some of the cuts they were talking about.”  He said, “Before we met, I wanted to make sure we had a handle on what the rearranged budget for the state would do to us, specifically, as a hospital.”

Clark said he anticipates that the next full board meeting will be the next regular meeting on Thursday, May 28th.

Regarding the election results, Clark said, “We were obviously very, very disappointed by the outcome.  We knew it was going to be a tough time to go after a millage and, quite frankly, I was very surprised by the large turnout, although we got 800 positive votes, which was a positive number.  We had thought originally that kind of vote would get the millage passed, but obviously the negative turnout was much more than we anticipated.”

When asked if hospital officials plan to analyze the results of the election to determine why it turned out the way it did, Clark said, “We certainly do because that will give us a general direction in terms of what the board has to look at going forward in terms of what issues we have to address to satisfy the public we’re trying to serve.”

Three Rivers Health – like other hospitals in Michigan – is facing challenging financial times in the state’s recessionary economy and lost $3.2 million in 2008.  The hospital’s bottom line was in the black, but just barely, in February and March after budget cuts and trimming of the workforce during the last year.

To hear the interview with Clark (2:29) – conducted by Bruce Snook of the River Country Journal – click here.

For additional insights regarding budget activity in Lansing, click on the following links:

• Executive Order issued to address state budget deficit
• Sen. Brown: Executive Order one step forward, two steps back
• Lori: Budget cuts a start but do not address the real issue
• EO Medicaid cuts would harm people