Clinton County Commissioners Approve RFP and Recommendation to Proceed with Competitive Bidding Process
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On Wednesday, Jan. 13, the Clinton County Board of Commissioners took action that could ultimately result in the sale of CMH Regional Health System/Clinton Memorial Hospital (CMH), concurring with the December 2009 recommendation of the CMH Board of Trustees.
Since CMH is a county hospital, the CMH board's recommendation to proceed with the county competitive bidding process for the potential asset purchase of CMH had to be acted on by the commissioners as the ultimate decision-making authority.
The board recommendation was formally delivered to the commissioners on the morning of Monday, Dec. 21, and the commissioners hosted a public information meeting the same night at the Murphy Theatre.
CMH officials were present twice this week to discuss and debate the recommendations during the county commissioners' public meetings on the topic. On Monday, Jan. 11, CMH officials officially presented and reviewed a draft request for proposal (RFP) for the acquisition of assets and operations of CMH.
On Wednesday, Jan. 13, CMH officials were again present for discussion. At the end of the discussion, the commissioners took action to approve the RFP and proceed with the necessary steps for the competitive bidding process.
The next step will be to publish legal notice of the RFP for the acquisition of the assets and operations of CMH. The commissioners plan to publish notice this Friday.
The asset purchase recommendation requires a public competitive bidding process, which ultimately may result in the sale of the 59-year-old county hospital and its related assets. The commissioners and hospital board will have the ability to reject any and all bids.
"The face of healthcare has changed, making it a challenging environment for small, community-based hospitals to thrive or even survive." says Dr. Michael Choo, interim president and chief executive officer of CMH. "The potential partnership with a larger health system will bring the much needed financial support, which in turn will not only sustain, but grow our medical staff and service offerings to support the healthcare needs of our community."
The CMH Board of Trustees recommendation was based on more than a year's worth of detailed research and analysis on its own as well as by the CMH medical staff, management and non-management employees and community leaders.
On Thursday, Jan. 14 the RFP will be available for public review on the CMH website at www.cmhregional.com.
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