The first of many hurdles for the hospital system

Under the plan, a seven-member board would be appointed to oversee the system and, again, bids would be solicited for a potential buyer of the three hospitals and two nursing homes. Past county efforts to find someone to take over the burden have been unsuccessful but may be more promising now that state officials are more willing to help pay off some of the hundreds of millions of dollars needed for the hospitals’ debts and facility and technology updates.

Also, the plan requires state and county officials to reach an agreement within 60 days on how much funding each would be responsible for, one of the sticking points that led to disaster in the final hours the last go-round.

The plan is a major step in the right direction, and although funding continues to be an issue, it isn’t the only hurdle officials must overcome.

One of the previous suitors for the system was Ascension Health, a St. Louis-based Catholic hospital chain. Having a religious company take over raises questions about whether abortion and birth-control services would be offered at the hospitals, and whether lawmakers – many of whom support the services – would give that priority when reviewing bids. There will likely be other suitors with conflicting views, raising more questions about future services.

In addition, the system’s future relies heavily on the appointees that will make up the hospital authority. It was wise to allow the General Assembly to choose one member of the authority, giving the state marginal control, especially in light of county and state officials’ past bickering.

It will be important for officials to thoroughly vet all nominees and provide the public with their qualifications and connections to officials to keep the process transparent.

As the parties continue their talks, they should also keep open the option of bringing the system into the fold of the state hospital system.

The bad news is that for the next two fiscal cycles millions of taxpayer dollars would continue to be thrown at a bad situation. The good news is that if all goes as planned, this could be the beginning of the end of a longstanding problem.

Whether the county reaches that goal depends on how officials work out the details by the summer.