Sierra Vista Hospital is going through changes in ownership, but no one will say why, other than to assure the public that the hospital remains financially secure.
Elephant Butte’s municipal government unanimously voted to end its ownership share of the hospital in a closed-door session on May 14. Elephant Butte owns 15 percent of the hospital; Sierra County and Truth or Consequences each own 40 percent and Williamsburg 5 percent.
Elephant Butte Mayor Phillip Mortensen notified the Joint Powers Committee on May 30 that Elephant Butte wants out of the Joint Powers Agreement by August 28, although it will continue to assign 3 sixteenths of 1 percent of gross-receipts taxes to hospital operations.
“We don’t really understand the reason for the withdrawal, but that is certainly their prerogative,” committee chairman and Sierra County Commissioner Jim Paxon said at the June 24 commission meeting. He said the hospital will continue to treat Elephant Butte patients the same as anyone else from Sierra County.
Mayor Mortensen, Mayor Pro Tem Kim Skinner and Councilor Cathy Harmon did not respond to my emails and telephone calls asking why Elephant Butte wants out of the Joint Powers Agreement. But Councilor Michael Williams said it’s because the other members of the Joint Powers Committee treat Elephant Butte like a “bastard stepchild.”
“You can never get a straight answer,” Williams said. He said when he attended committee meetings, members avoided his questions about borrowing on top of the outstanding loan for building the new hospital, which matures in 2046.
Some of these unanswered questions might be addressed at the July 15 meeting of the Joint Powers Committee to decide how to redistribute Elephant Butte’s share. But the meeting between each of the four owners and their attorneys will be closed to the public and the media.
This follows a closed-door vote of the hospital’s Governing Board on June 14 to accept the resignation of Don Bates as chief executive officer. Previously a CEO for a group of rural hospitals in Texas, Bates had started at Sierra Vista at the first of the year. Neither he nor the board gave a reason for his departure. David Faulkner, who previously was the hospital’s CEO, will return as interim CEO, until the board has a chance to find a permanent replacement.
“There’s been a lot of rumors that the hospital is not in good shape, that it’s going to be sold,” Paxon said at the recent commission hearing. “Boy, nothing could be farther from the truth. As far as the hospital’s health, they have 13 million dollars in the bank right now. … We’re in really good shape. This is a bump in the road.”