History Corner

In October of 1999 Hospital Board Chairperson Pete Johnston said the hospital was operating in the red and could not afford to continue paying the amounts it had been for administrators, physicians and nurse practitioners. He added that the current contracts for these services were in violation of the law. There had been some discussion of making the hospital a private institution – something Sinkinson favored.

The Record, November 11, 1999: “Hospital Trustees voted unanimously to hire a hospital administrator who is not a member of the medical staff. The board rejected a proposal to lease the facility to Doctor Sinkinson. They also voted to establish a management service contract with Saint Alphonsus Hospital in Boise. Both Doctor Sinkinson and Sandy Niehm indicated they were interested in looking at individual physician and nurse practitioner contracts.”

The December 23, 1999 Record blared the headline: “Council Hospital Teeters on the Edge of Closing.” The article under the headline said that Monday morning it appeared closure was imminent, but by Tuesday evening things looked more hopeful. Trustees were able to procure a management contract with Saint Alphonsus. They drafted an agreement that would provide 24 hour, seven day a week coverage at the hospital until January 31, and they convinced John Hathaway at Health and Welfare to give them until Thursday to provide the regulatory agency with documents needed to allow the hospital and nursing home to keep the doors open.

Right about this time, Dr. Sinkinson opened a clinic in the city’s business Park, but the city’s decision to lease the space was controversial. In a guest opinion in the Record, Dr. Sinkinson wrote that the hospital board’s attitude toward him and Sandy Niehm “was that our own self interest was always at the heart of the advice we gave them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Some of that advice, especially over the last few weeks, was definitely not what they wanted to hear.” He said many of the hospital boards plans ran afoul of the state and federal regulations that govern hospitals and medical providers, and would have resulted in disaster.

At the end of 1999 the trustees breathed a sigh of relief when the Dept. of Health and Welfare, Licensing and Certification Division, informed them that they would accept the current operation plan for the nursing home, hospital and clinic. The doors could stay open.

But that relief didn’t even last more than a month. By the end of January 2000, it was announced that the hospital only had enough money to run until February 15. On top of that, the hospital board filed a motion ordering Dr. Sinkinson to return patient records which he had removed from the hospital and taken to his new clinic. The board said not having patient records remain at the hospital meant the hospital was out of compliance with federal regulations, but Dr. Sinkinson felt the records belonged to him.

In early February, Dr. Sinkinson “donated” the patient records back to the hospital.

On February 5 a small group formed a “Save the Hospital Committee.” It seemed as though, unless a major fundraising effort raised enough funds, the hospital would probably close forever.

A few small rays of hope shined through the clouds that month. The Council Hospital received Critical Care Access designation. This would allow it to lower operating costs, receive higher reimbursements from Medicaid, and to be staffed solely by mid-level medical providers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, if necessary. Also, Adams County donated $10,000 to the hospital.

That month the hospital hired Dr. John Noak, 43, who agreed to be a permanent medical provider.

Over the next month, the community pitched in. The Save the Council Hospital Fund reached $105,000 in cash and commitments. Idaho Power donated $10,000, and Clearwater Research made a large donation. The city agreed to forgive the hospital’s sewer and water debt, as well as give it free sewer and water for a year (equivalent of about $6,000).

By the end of March 2000, the hospital had Dr. Jon Eric Baillie and Dr. John Noak on its medical staff. However, in April, Dr. Noak resigned.

In May, US Bank gave $10,000 to the hospital. In July the Morrison Foundation pledged to donate $100,000 to the hospital over a four-year period.

A special bond election was held that summer that would raise $600,000 to be paid over 10 years. Voters approved it, but by only a 19 vote margin.

The roller coaster ride of hope and pessimism continued into 2001. In April it was reported that the hospital was still severely hampered by over-regulation and by extremely low Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rates.

Over the next six months the hospital hired and lost a few doctors, physicians assistants and administrators. By the fall of 2002 the facility was taking in $10,500 less than it was paying out each month.

Finally, in mid-February of 2002 the hammer fell. The Record’s headline read: “COUNCIL HOSPITAL WILL CLOSE.” The article that followed said, “After years of struggle and incalculable hours of volunteer labor and lobbying efforts, Council Community Hospital will be no more. Not enough community members have used the hospital, nursing home, and clinic to make the venture viable.”

A major factor was that, even though the hospital received federal critical access designation, which was intended to ease staffing requirements, Idaho, unlike its neighboring states, refused to adopt federal guidelines that would have allowed the hospital to operate with a reduced staff.

On March 13, 2002, current and past employees of Council Community Hospital and Nursing Home gathered for one last potluck dinner. The Record said: “Through the laughter, tears and love the ominous clock was forgotten until just a handful remained for the final closing hours, as Administrator Aloha Kier locked the doors for the final time, a silence echoed with the last turn of the key. It is so hard to believe that this is the end and this fill facilities long-term struggle is finally over.”

The hospital officially closed at midnight on March 15, 2002.

Next week: What happens to the hospital taxing district? Will the clinic survive? Will the nursing home continue?

Reminder: I will be giving a presentation about Mesa Orchards at the New Meadows depot on April 3 at 7:00 p.m..

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