Hospital commissioners delay action on strategic plan, form committee to review public comment

Public comment on a proposed strategic plan for the hospital district was significant enough to prompt hospital commissioners to delay approval and implementation of the plan. The commissioners have also agreed to release the complete plan for public review and comment during the next two weeks. Click HERE to download the draft plan.

Adams County Public Hospital District No. 2 Commissioners met Thursday afternoon, where they were expected to vote on a draft of the strategic plan that was presented to them in June.

Instead, Chairman Kirk Danekas recommended the formation of a committee to review public comments about the draft plan and edit it accordingly to include community sentiment.

“A considerable number of people have expressed concerns,” Danekas said during the meeting.

By consensus commissioners concurred with the idea.

“I think it’s important to listen to some of the comments that have been made and implement some of that into the plan,” Danekas said.

Citizen Eric Walker raised an issue about the version of the plan originally shared with the community. He noted the draft strategic plan released to the public was approximately 12 pages of text, while the full and complete document had an additional 17 pages.

The 12-page version was placed on the hospital district’s website and provided to The Journal for placement on its website in order for the public to review and then comment on the plan prior to Thursday’s meeting.

The 17 pages that were not released included demographic figures, budget assumptions and a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis.

The commissioners agreed to release the full and complete document. It will be posted on its website and The Journal’s. A hard copy will be available for review at the hospital. Public comment will be accepted until the close of business on Friday, July 29. Written comments can be taken to the hospital or submitted via email to: [email protected].

Danekas invited community members Harriett Lynch and Eric Walker to sit on the committee to review the strategic plan and the public comments. He and commissioner Stacey Plummer will represent the commissioners. Chief Executive Officer Mark Barglof and other administrative staff will also participate on the committee.

The review of the plan will take an unknown amount of time.

“It might take a month, it might take two months, but let’s get it right,” Danekas said of the committee review process.