Our Union County, NC Commissioners have called for a meeting on Wednesday morning, December 13, 2009 to discuss our healthcare facility, Carolina Medical Center-Union.
Is it even feasible our Union County Commissioners are even considering selling Carolinas Medical Center-Union (CMC-Union)?
CMC-Union is in fact Union County’s largest asset. Our hospital and our public school system are both the foundation of our local government; good education and good healthcare. There is an analogy.
Our first hospital facility started in 1935. Union County built a new facility in 1955. In 1985, then Union Memorial Hospital moved into a new addition. In 1995, after getting many serious complaints with our hospital, a small group put together an effort to replace the local management. After public hearings, our UC Commission transferred management to Carolina Medical Center (CMC). Prior to that time, our Union County taxpayers were annually subsidizing Union Memorial Hospital. Immediately, CMC management turned the hospital into a first year $1 Million supplemental payment “to” Union County. More importantly, CMC-Union management has brought much more professional medical credibility to our patients and our citizens.
Union County is now facing $600 Million in debt. Our commissioners must understand this debt is due to excessive spending. Selling Union County’s largest asset is an effort to cover our commissioners excessive spending. Selling CMC-Union now may solve an immediate revenue interruption, but this sale may create an even higher revenue deficit in the future.
I would certainly hope before the commissioners decide to sell CMC-Union, Union County Commissioners will call for a referendum of the voters. It is my belief a referendum of the voters will, by a 65% to 70% majority vote, deny our commissioners from selling our main “HealthCare” facility. Our commissioners must bite the bullet for a reduced budget and reduce spending.
What is next on our commissioners’ agenda? Will our commissioners decide to sell our public schools? Selling our CMC-Union facility and/or our public schools could be one of the most unprofessional, and perhaps the most uneducated financial decision of all time. I pray for our commissioners to seek a different solution. You must reduce spending, “Now”!
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