Hospital Construction Project Needs Public Support to Start
October 9, 2018 - The state is requiring all hospitals to be rebuilt by 2030, without providing funding, and the community will get a chance to learn all about it this Saturday, October 13.
A special presentation by County Health Officer Dr. Eric Sergienko, Fremont Hospital CEO Matthew Matthiessen (pictured), and Fremont Board Chair Candy Donel-Browne will be offered at 9:45 A.M. at Miner’s Roadhouse.
Fremont Hospital opened in 1952. By most standards, it is a small hospital, but serves a vital service to the community. The emergency department is used by thousands of people each year where doctors treat everything from lacerations to heart attacks, strokes, and moving vehicle accidents. Most people are treated and sent home. Some people are admitted to the acute wing for treatment for serious illnesses. Others with heart attacks, etc, are stabilized and have their lives saved. After the initial treatment to save their lives, the patients are transferred to larger hospitals.
The first hour after a heart attack or stroke or serious accident is when lives are saved. Because it takes so long for an ambulance to reach a hospital in a bigger city, the smaller rural hospital is necessary for life. In the medical community this is referred to as the “Golden Hour”.
Twenty-four hours a day people can receive x-rays and CT scans, get labs, receive respiratory treatments, and receive all the necessary services for an emergency department.
Besides the acute rooms for seriously ill patients, the hospital has an entire wing devoted to long term care patients. Locally it is known as the Ewing Wing. This valuable service is a comfort for people who need help caring for their elder parents and spouses.
These services are threatened by the law, known as SB1953. It mandates all older hospitals must be rebuilt or close down by 2030. The local hospitals have to pay for the construction. Medical facilities are very different from building a home or even an office building. The building codes are more stringent and very costly. Medical equipment has stratospheric prices.
Many larger hospitals in the state have already built new facilities. A few other projects are currently in process. A few hospitals have announced they will not rebuild, but will instead, close their doors.
The Fremont Healthcare District Board of Directors has decided to rebuild. They have been working hard with the hospital CEO to learn what they can do and how to pay for it.
The public will need to vote on the project and their support will be needed.
Much more information about this project will be presented and discussed at this meeting. The public will have a chance to ask questions. You will be able to learn how you can help get this project completed. As this is the biggest project Mariposa County has faced everyone is urged to attend.
If you want to order breakfast for yourself, please arrive at 9:00 A.M. Free water and coffee will be available. This meeting is being sponsored by the Mariposa Democratic Club. Following the presentation there will be a short club business meeting.
Source: Mariposa Democratic Club
