The Tri-City Healthcare District's (TCHD) Board of Directors voted 4-1 at a Special Board meeting August 9 to place a $596 million Tri-City Medical Center (TCMC) Hospital Construction, Improvement and Emergency Care Facilities General Obligation Bond Measure on the November 7 General election ballot. Director RoseMarie Reno voted against the motion and Director Kathleen Sterling was not present at the hearing.
The Board also voted unanimously to approve an Addendum to its Master Facilities Plan and voted 4-1 in favor of allocating $300,000 towards community communications activities to "maintain strong two-way communications between the community and the District."
The Bond Measure is similar to one the Board placed on the June Primary election ballot, as Proposition F. That Measure received a 65.91% approval rating by District voters, 0.76% short of the 2/3s vote needed to pass.
"Clearly our message during the Proposition F campaign about the needs of the Medical Center and its future were heard and supported by the vast majority of this community," stated Dr. Richard Burruss, a spokesperson for the Prop F campaign. "It is in that spirit that the Board instructed Hospital staff to draft a new Resolution for a potential November election," he continued.
The new Resolution includes many of the comments and input of District stakeholders heard throughout the Proposition F campaign, Burruss stated. "There were many issues we heard from the community that we have addressed in this new Measure," he said.
The Measure, if approved by two-thirds of the District's voters, would "enhance patient care and safety, accommodate advances in medical technology, improve outpatient care, provide for a growing and aging community, meet state-mandated earthquake standards, and reduce emergency room overcrowding." This would be accomplished by constructing, repairing and improving the 45-year-old Medical Center, according to the Resolution's summary statement.
The Measure calls for renovating approximately 163,000 square feet of the existing hospital, constructing approximately 594,000 square feet of a new hospital, construction of approximately 220,000 square feet of an outpatient services building, the creation of nearly 1,750 total parking spaces, including the construction of a parking structure to hold about 550 vehicles and the improvement of campus access and traffic flow.
No portion of the bond will be used for administrators' or staff salaries.
Experts in real estate development and Medical Center personnel have long stated that it is costing the District $3 million a month for every month of delay in building a new medical facility. The District estimates that in the five months between the June Primary and the November General Election, an additional $15 million in cost has accumulated due to mounting construction costs. The Resolution states the District will absorb these costs due to the delay out of its construction contingency budget, rather than increase the bond amount in this Resolution.
"It is important to recognize that the longer we delay, the more expensive these repairs and upgrades are going to be," stated Dr. Art Gonzalez, President and CEO of Tri-City Medical Center. "This is a fiscally responsible plan that will allow us to serve the needs of our growing communities for generations to come."
The hospital district includes portions of Oceanside, Vista and Carlsbad, although its primary service area covers other North County communities including San Marcos.
The Bond Resolution and the District's Master Facilities Plan and its Addendum can be viewed on TCMC's web site at www.tricitymed.org.
The Board also voted unanimously to approve an Addendum to its Master Facilities Plan and voted 4-1 in favor of allocating $300,000 towards community communications activities to "maintain strong two-way communications between the community and the District."
The Bond Measure is similar to one the Board placed on the June Primary election ballot, as Proposition F. That Measure received a 65.91% approval rating by District voters, 0.76% short of the 2/3s vote needed to pass.
"Clearly our message during the Proposition F campaign about the needs of the Medical Center and its future were heard and supported by the vast majority of this community," stated Dr. Richard Burruss, a spokesperson for the Prop F campaign. "It is in that spirit that the Board instructed Hospital staff to draft a new Resolution for a potential November election," he continued.
The new Resolution includes many of the comments and input of District stakeholders heard throughout the Proposition F campaign, Burruss stated. "There were many issues we heard from the community that we have addressed in this new Measure," he said.
The Measure, if approved by two-thirds of the District's voters, would "enhance patient care and safety, accommodate advances in medical technology, improve outpatient care, provide for a growing and aging community, meet state-mandated earthquake standards, and reduce emergency room overcrowding." This would be accomplished by constructing, repairing and improving the 45-year-old Medical Center, according to the Resolution's summary statement.
The Measure calls for renovating approximately 163,000 square feet of the existing hospital, constructing approximately 594,000 square feet of a new hospital, construction of approximately 220,000 square feet of an outpatient services building, the creation of nearly 1,750 total parking spaces, including the construction of a parking structure to hold about 550 vehicles and the improvement of campus access and traffic flow.
No portion of the bond will be used for administrators' or staff salaries.
Experts in real estate development and Medical Center personnel have long stated that it is costing the District $3 million a month for every month of delay in building a new medical facility. The District estimates that in the five months between the June Primary and the November General Election, an additional $15 million in cost has accumulated due to mounting construction costs. The Resolution states the District will absorb these costs due to the delay out of its construction contingency budget, rather than increase the bond amount in this Resolution.
"It is important to recognize that the longer we delay, the more expensive these repairs and upgrades are going to be," stated Dr. Art Gonzalez, President and CEO of Tri-City Medical Center. "This is a fiscally responsible plan that will allow us to serve the needs of our growing communities for generations to come."
The hospital district includes portions of Oceanside, Vista and Carlsbad, although its primary service area covers other North County communities including San Marcos.
The Bond Resolution and the District's Master Facilities Plan and its Addendum can be viewed on TCMC's web site at www.tricitymed.org.