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Memorial Hospital asks county for $426,350 to add showers, bathroom to OB unit; commissioners give tentative support
Summary
Memorial Hospital requested $426,350 to replace bathtubs with showers in three labor rooms and add a recovery-room bathroom to support rising birth volume; hospital leaders said births are increasing from about 37 per month to a projected 42 per month and commissioners signaled support to fund the work from existing maintenance/carryover resources, asking county staff to formalize the mechanism.
Memorial Hospital Sweetwater County asked the commission April 15 for $426,350 to convert three labor-room bathtubs to showers and install a bathroom in the recovery room, citing infection-control and patient-care reasons and a rising birth caseload.
CEO Irene Richardson said the hospital has seen a jump in demand and is providing labor-and-delivery services while neighboring hospitals have scaled back. "This year we're projected to have about 42 births per month," Richardson said, adding that the hospital averages about 37 births per month historically. Foundation director Kayla Manico and the hospital’s CFO reviewed grant-search efforts and said few external funding sources fit the project; they recommended using existing hospital maintenance funds and carryover reserves to finance construction and proposed invoice-based reimbursements during construction.
Commissioners discussed options for funding (using the hospital’s existing maintenance appropriation versus an internal carryover reserve set last year). County legal and finance staff said they would clarify whether the maintenance account can be used for the capital work and recommended a procedural path for reimbursement. While the board did not record a formal appropriation in the meeting minutes, commissioners indicated general agreement to proceed under the county reimbursement process and asked staff to prepare a clear resolution or administrative mechanism.
