Maverick County Hospital District continues financial bleeding
By: Jose G. Landa
Copyright 2013
The Maverick County Hospital District (MCHD) Board of Directors held their regular Board meeting on Wednesday, September 25, 2013, at the local hospital district’s conference room at 3406 Bob Rogers Drive, in Eagle Pass, Texas.
The highlight of the September 25th MCHD Board meeting was a presentation by Sammy Juve, Regional Management Committee member, and Alvin Shenk, Vice-President of Treasury Management for Central & South Texas, of PlainsCapital Bank who introduced the new bank in the community and presented the Maverick County Hospital District a donation of $5,000 for its health care services to indigent patients in Maverick County, Texas. Juve stated that PlainsCapital Bank had purchased the former First National Bank and is committed to investing in the communities where it does business. Juve will be in charge of PlainsCapital Bank in Eagle Pass and Laredo. Shenk stated PlainsCapital Bank is pleased and excited to be in Eagle Pass and looks forward to growing together with the community. Shenk added that PlainsCapital Bank is the sixth largest commercial bank based in Texas and was founded in Lubbock, Texas and its headquarters are in Dallas, Texas.
MCHD Chief Financial Officer Terri Contreras-Patlan presented the local hospital district’s financial reports for the month of September 2013 and reported that during the month of August 2013, the last month of the 2012-2013 fiscal budget year, the MCHD “has a projected loss ….of $416,744 and a projected operating loss of $3,999,272 to date’ for the 2012-2013 fiscal budget year including $446,215 depreciation expense. Contreras-Patlan further reported to the MCHD Board that the Hospital District had to dip into its reserves to make a capital contribution of $1,633,355 into the Non-Operating Revenue/Expenses, the MCHD had “a projected loss at the end of its fiscal year of $233,567.”
In other words, what MCHD CFO Contreras-Patlan is stating to the MCHD Board is that for the fiscal budget year of 2012-2013 the MCHD has an unaudited operating loss of $1,633,355 Million plus $233,567 totaling $1,866,922 Million. The MCHD has incurred significant budget operating losses for many years now under the leadership of Board Chairman Juan Manuel Farias and CEO Elcira Bares. Board member Ricardo E. Calderon is the only board member at the MCHD that has consistently expressed his objections and concerns on these monthly and yearly budget deficits and the need for the local hospital district to balance its budget. Calderon has repeatedly told the MCHD Board and Administration that they should not use reserve funds as capital contributions to balance the budget because the reserves will be depleted and exhausted in 10 or less years at this rate.
In addition to this loss for the just completed 2012-2013 fiscal year, the MCHD Board approved its 2013-2014 fiscal year budget on August 28th for the sum of $8,044,858 Million which includes a budget deficit of $1,636,900 Million to be paid once again, you guessed it, out of the MCHD reserves. The MCHD Board approved the 2013-2014 Budget by a 4-1 vote with only Board member Calderon voting against the deficit budget and Chairman Farias, Vice-Chairman and Maverick County Treasurer Rito Valdez, III, Board member Humberto Duran, and Board member Joaquin L. Rodriguez voting in favor of it.
If you simply add the numbers, a projected loss of $1,866,922 Million for fiscal year 2012-2013 and another $1,636,900 Million for fiscal year 2013-2014 the total projected operating budget losses of the MCHD during the past two years is a total of $3,503,822 Million.
In other agenda items, Board member Calderon made a motion to approve the August 28th MCHD Board meeting minutes with some corrections to reflect his reasons stated at the meeting on his votes and to comply with the open and transparent government laws in Texas so that in the future if any citizen or taxpayer requested to review or read the minutes of the MCHD Board they would understand what exactly transpired at the meeting. However, Chairman Farias and Vice-Chairman and Maverick County Treasurer Rito Valdez, III, blocked Calderon’s corrections to the minutes voting against his motion. Farias and Valdez approved the August 28th Board meeting minutes without Calderon’s corrections and as written by Administration. Board members Humberto Duran and Joaquin L. Rodriguez did not attend the September 25th Board meeting.
Another agenda item was the discussion and possible action on the renting or possible sale of the Bibb Street MCHD real property to the County of Maverick, but this agenda item was tabled to allow CEO Bares time to meet with Maverick County Judge David Saucedo to determine what are the wishes of Maverick County.
The MCHD Board approved to transmit live their Board meetings via internet or cable television and authorized CEO Bares to research the costs of transmitting the Board meetings live through the internet or the public cable channel 14.
The Board also approved legal counsel to file a lawsuit against Maricruz Sifuentes for defaulting on her student loan.
The Board approved to provide lease space to the Candles for Life, a local non-profit organization dedicated to supporting local Cancer patients, for One Dollar per year at the offices of the MCHD’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Services Program.
The Board tabled the proposal from a San Antonio, Texas law firm for legal services on a contingency fee basis to prosecute their Texas Prompt Pay Claims of uncollected medical bills.
The Board did not take any action after executive session in open session on either personnel matters and the Dos Republicas Coal Partnership appeal pending in Travis County, Texas.
