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Officials say county may sell hospital property to local nonprofit to unlock upgrades
Summary
Commissioners discussed county ownership of hospital property, the difficulties a nonprofit operator faces when it does not own the facility, and preliminary talks about a possible sale to the nonprofit operator, Peekabelli Health.
Teton County commissioners discussed the county-owned hospital facility and ongoing conversations about transferring ownership to the local nonprofit that operates the hospital.
Presenters said the county owns the hospital building but a nonprofit operates medical services; because the nonprofit does not own the facility it has difficulty obtaining financing to upgrade or expand the building. Commissioners and staff agreed that sale to the nonprofit would allow the operator to seek financing and grant opportunities that require ownership and said county staff have discussed ways to structure such a transaction.
Staff said the county currently receives roughly $70,000 a year in rent from the hospital operator and that additional county-owned parcels near the hospital exist. Commissioners requested more detailed discussions with the hospital operator to pursue a workable sale or transfer structure; no sale agreement or formal vote was presented during the meeting.
Commissioners also noted the challenges of operating rural hospitals, including reimbursement rules and heavy uncompensated-care burdens, and said a nonprofit critical-access hospital structure can be advantageous for rural reimbursement and finance mechanisms.
The conversation identified Peekabelli Health as the current nonprofit operator; staff described that entity as a local critical-access nonprofit. No dollar valuation or sale terms were given in the meeting.
