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By JAMES JORDAN
Traveler Managing Editor

City commissioners appear ready to approve the transfer of ownership of the Arkansas City Hospital to a private group, but they put off their vote at a special meeting Wednesday night.

Several people spoke favorably about the decision and the 100 or so people there often broke into applause.

Commissioner Wayne Short said he was in favor of the deal, but wanted to look over the paperwork again before making a final vote. He said there had been some minor concerns and he wanted to be sure they had been settled.

Commissioner Janet English echoed the sentiments and said she would feel better once the commission had a chance to look over the final details.

"We are thrilled to have the possibility of this hospital," she said.

The commission will hold an executive session to discuss the contracts with their attorney at their regular work session meeting Friday. They will continue last night's meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Their regular meeting will follow at 7 p.m.

The new hospital, CoVista Medical Center, would be built two miles north of Arkansas City by the Cardio Vascular Hospitals of America. This group would build the hospital and own 51 percent of the operation. Doctors who invest would own 48 percent and the City of Arkansas City would own one percent.

The city would be giving up assets in the hospital, which would amount to $4 million, City Manager Curt Freeland said. The city will also provide water and sewer, and annex the property.

As a for-profit entity, the new hospital would pay property taxes.

Hospital officials say the current facility is old and can no longer meet the needs of people in the community.

The city worked for several years with HUD to get financing to build a new hospital. That project fell through when HUD ruled that the area did not have the means to support a full-service hospital.

Badr Idbeis, CEO of Cardio Vascular Hospitals, said the new facility would be built to handle future expansion and would offer more services than the current hospital. He said there would also be more services available than there are at the current hospital.

The city would retain a right of refusal in the event the private company wanted to sell to another organization.

Idbeis said there were advantages to having a for-profit hospital, as opposed to the current setup of a non-profit hospital. He said profit-based hospitals usually end up giving more care to patients who cannot afford it than non-profit hospitals.

He noted that any hospital, for profit or not, has to accept any patient in their emergency room, regardless of ability to pay. However, they would be able to reject other patients who did not have the means to pay.

Eight people spoke at the public hearing, all in favor of the operation. Some questioned whether a for-profit hospital would care for indigent people, and there were questions about the rural water district in the area where the hospital is to be built.

Christy Lungren, Arkansas City, favored the hospital and told hospital officials, "Thank you for having faith in our community."

After the meeting, former Commissioner Charles Jennings questioned whether there were enough assurances that health care would still be available in Arkansas City 20 years from now. A for-profit hospital could potentially close and the city would not be able to stop such a move.

Hospital officials gave assurances health care would be here to stay.