Some Leadville Residents Didn't Think Hospital Would Really Close
LEADVILLE, Colo. (CBS4) - The only hospital in Leadville is closing.
The closest hospitals to Leadville are in Vail, Frisco and Salida, but they're all about an hour-drive away. That can be a death sentence for anyone with a heart attack or stroke.
St. Vincent Hospital administrators are blaming a tax increase that didn't pass earlier this month. A total of 2,500 votes and 58 percent of the citizens voted against it, and that means that if other last ditch efforts fail, the hospital will close in March.
"The Sisters of Charity came here in 1879, I believe it was, to give medical attention to the miners," Karen Rinehart with St. Vincent Hospital said.
But the hospital hasn't had a mill levy increase since 1988, and the building has fallen deep into disrepair.
"Our physical plant problems have caused us to not have heat in the patient rooms," Rinehart said.
This week the last of the dozen long-term care patients were moved to other facilities throughout Colorado, including a 100-year-old woman who has only lived in Leadville. It's the first department to close since the vote.
"I've had so many people come up to me and say, 'I didn't think it would really happen,' " Rinehart said.
The hospital has a $12 million operating budget. The tax increase would have brought in an extra million.
"We have a full emergency department, we have a lab, we have radiology, we have a family practice clinic … all of those are on a calendar to close."
The increase would have nearly tripled the taxes per $100,000 in value.
"I believe the tax increase was enough of a deterrent to dis-sway the vote. I also believe people just didn't believe we would close the doors."
One of the roughly 100 employees who stand to be unemployed soon told CBS4 they believed the hospital has been mismanaged for years.
"You know, this has been going on for decades. And I can't speak to previous boards or previous administrations, but I think it's always been a financial struggle," the employee said.
The hope is some matching funds will come in for a federal grant to keep the hospital open, or another health care company will come in and rescue the facility and the staff.
LINK: St. Vincent Hospital
