By Shannon McFarlin
Paris, Tenn.–After a statement from Henry County Commissioner David Webb imploring the commission to not let their passions devolve into mean spiritedness and disrespect over the ongoing Henry County Medical Center controversy and after some discussion among commissioners, the commission approved a loan agreement with the hospital not to exceed $4.5M.
A full house crowded into the first floor courtroom at the courthouse for the meeting.
Two commissioners—Marty Visser and Jerry Berry—voted no on both actions.
Earlier, Berry had made a motion to table consideration of the resolutions until hospital officials had prioritized its needs. “Looking over the list (of what is covered in the loan agreement), I would certainly agree that each has good merits. I see many that should be done soon and others that could wait. I’d like to wait until the volatility of this issue is over before we approve 100 percent of this.”
Commissioner Don Jones said, “They (the hospital board) know what they need” and Commissioner Dell Carter said, “We don’t need to table. We’ve talked about this for a year.” Commissioner Monte Starks agreed, saying, “This goes back to us micromanaging. The hospital board can make these decisions.”
The motion to table was defeated with three voting in the affirmative—Berry, Visser and Paul Neal.
At the meeting’s outset, Webb spoke to the commission about the joint session between the commission and board of trustees two weeks ago and the fallout from that session.
He said the character of the county commission has been called into question and said everyone on the commission is there because “we want to serve our community, which has given us so much. We are neighbors helping neighbors.”
Commissioners do care about hospital employees, he said, despite some comments on social media. He noted that HCMC employees have taken care of the community during the COVID pandemic and had produced “one of if not THE best mass vaccinations clinics in the state,” he said, noting that even retired employees came back to volunteer ‘during the darkest hours of the pandemic”.
Webb said, “To those who stoke people’s fear of the medical center, let me tell you that is not only reckless, but also it is dangerous. Some people might think they should delay or deny themselves needed medical care. Blatantly irresponsible actions might lead to a person’s health being compromised. (I think I am justified getting my dander up a bit on this point.) The ends some seek do not justify the means.”
He noted the recent stirring of divisiveness in the community which appeared to have led to some of the actions at the joint meeting. “Commissioners were blindsided by what transpired at the contentious joint meeting between the Henry County Board of Commissioners and the Henry County Medical Center’s board of trustees. The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss a $4.5 million bond issue to take care of replacing the hospital’s 70-year-old elevators, parking lot expansion, roof replacements, chiller replacement, purchase a much-needed mammogram machine to detect cancer—potentially saving lives in our community—and other medical equipment and upgrades—all necessary to keep our county-owned medical facilities up. I thought we might even quash some unfounded rumors. Accusations were brought to commissioners’ attention, and the meeting devolved into chaos, confusion, and coercion. Like some of you, I have lost sleep over this,” Webb said.
Henry County is better than this,” he said. “Making up falsehoods, posting and reposting unfounded rumors, and spreading false gossip—none of that is acceptable or productive. In fact, it is divisive and destructive.”
Webb said there is a line between expressing concern or passing along concerns from constituents to meddling and micromanaging. “And I feel we have been getting into dangerous and, perhaps, illegal territory,” he said. “I was shocked, saddened, and embarrassed, at the joint meeting and this all combined to hurt the reputation and confidence of the board of trustees and the county commission. It has led to divisiveness and resentment.”
There were mistakes made at the meeting, he said, including space allocation limitations for spectators and the optics of the county mayor and the hospital board chairman sitting far apart. “They should have sat together in the front to help manage the meeting and to keep order,” he said.
Additionally, the agenda did not match the original intent or expectations of the meeting which was supposed to involve a quick overview of the hospital’s financial condition for commissioners.
Frustration led to tempers getting out of control and ‘gotcha’ moments, Webb said, noting, “We as elected officials, are and should be held to a higher standard of conduct. As Christian men, we are also held to our Lord’s standard in all aspects of our lives, including conducting the business of Henry County as gentlemen and servant leaders.”
He refuted rumors that have been circulating on social media: no one in the hospital or county administration is entertaining the idea of selling the hospital, especially since HCMC has a four-star rating in an area where that is rare. “While too many hospitals have shuttered their doors, we remain open despite COVID and other challenges,” he said.
Likewise, no one has intentionally tried to devalue HCMC for the purpose of selling the hospital. “This is absurd. Why would we consider a $4.5 million bond issue to improve our medical center if someone’s goal was to devalue it? It doesn’t make any sense,” he said.
“Our Henry County Medical Center is one of our community’s greatest assets—both for high quality healthcare and employment. We need to do everything we can to keep it strong and viable not only for the present, but for the future—as previous generations of Henry Countians have done for us. I am saddened by the spirit of divisiveness that has taken root in a part of our community, and I do not want that extended to this body.”
Webb noted, “There are some in our community that would like us to take a vote tonight and remove the CEO from the medical center. We do not have the authority to take such action. We do not hire the CEO, therefore, we cannot fire the CEO. Personnel responsibilities lie solely with the Henry County Medical Center’s board of trustees—not the Henry County Commission.”
Evaluations of the hospital CEO will continue, he said, and he called for a medical center-owned non-profit rural medical clinic to reduce wait times and expand non-emergency services with extended hours and weekends, if not 24 hours a day. Webb said, “This would free up the emergency room for what it was intended and reduce debt and provide better options for reimbursement and payment of deductibles and fees.”
Webb said the commissioners and the hospital board and officials need to work to regain public confidence and work also to promote a ‘we’re in this together’ rather than an ‘us versus them’ attitude.
“Instead of despair, confusion, anxiety, impatience, meanness, rudeness, abrasiveness, harshness, being out of control, and exhibiting undisciplined behavior, let’s embrace the Fruit of the Spirit, and that is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control,” he said. “We are one Henry County. Our common goal is to have a better Henry County for our neighbors, our family, and ourselves.”
In other business:
County Mayor John Penn Ridgeway said county officials have been meeting with TEMA on tornado damage in the county. “We should know next week if we will be included in the federal declaration. Anyone with damage needs to let me or my office know. Meanwhile, our neighbors are still hurting and we need to help them, too.”
He thanked the county sheriff’s office, BPU, emergency management, highway department and other first responders for their quick action during last weekend’s tornado that hit the county.
Photo: Commissioner David Webb, center, reads his statement at meeting’s outset. (Shannon McFarlin photo).