I retired at the end of 2022 after having the privilege of being a health care leader for over 38 years in a variety of health service systems and hospitals in three states. This included being the CEO of a very rural 25-bed critical access hospital in Arizona.

One of the key reasons for my wife and I to chose Homer to retire to (in addition to its natural beauty) is its hospital and scope of available services, which is unique for this size community. However, to preserve this community asset it requires our continued support for many reasons, including the overall health of the community, and for the emergency, acute and longitudinal services it provides.

It is also a critical economic driver for the community through its workforce that supports its retail core, basic community and governmental services and other service and professional sectors throughout the year in our community.

What is the risk of not supporting our hospital and all those that rely on it for care and employment?

According to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform in their July 2024 report, over the past 10 years more than 100 rural hospitals have closed. They also note that more than 700 rural hospitals, which encompass over 30% of all rural hospitals in the country, are at risk of closing due to serious financial problems they are experiencing.

These factors include losses in patient revenues, insufficient revenues from other resources, and low financial reserves. The report also has Alaska listed with over 50% of its hospitals operating at a loss. The national stress on rural hospitals is not likely to get any better soon and will continue to see closures and increased stress.

In the south Kenai Peninsula, we are truly fortunate to have an excellent local facility with strong competent leadership, a high-quality medical staff, and a caring experienced hospital/medical clinic staff. We also have a model of integration between the medical staff and hospital that is leading edge that drives quality, patient safety, aligned goals and mission resulting in more effective and efficient use of limited resources and provides a unified focus on what is important for our community health.

Without our hospital and its emergency services you would need to drive over an hour and a half from many Homer in-city locations to reach the next nearest facility (and much further in many parts of the service area) assuming mild weather. In case of trauma or acute needs such as heart attack, stroke, or other issues, this distance would likely result in poor outcomes for your health. Being airlifted would not likely be any faster due to ramp up and staging.

For all the reasons outlined above, it is important that we always support our hospital’s bond propositions with a yes vote as they come up. Proposition 1 is a result of a comprehensive planning effort on the most critical capital needs for the hospital in service to the community. It provides for expansion of outpatient services such as infusion and pharmacy required upgrades, replacement for an aged emergency generator and other infrastructure, a new diagnostic modality by adding a nuclear medicine camera that will help with diagnosis of heart disease, a variety of cancers and provide other key tests allowing hundreds of patients to be treated locally.

One of the items that seems to bring up the most questions is the purchase of adjacent properties and the purchase price. These properties are being purchased at commercial market value, which will save the hospital money as they are and will continue to be leased over time. It would cost more to build replacement properties currently and even more so in the future. Also, the net present value of the future lease payments over the lease term is more than the purchase price thereby saving money and we would own the property through purchase.

The borough did an excellent job in getting a fair purchase price agreed to on a business sale. The tax valuation you often hear about has no relation to what the value is to a commercial purchase which is evaluated through the net present value and replacement cost methods.

We do have a gift in having the hospital and its various operations in Homer that is rare for our size community, and it needs our continued investment and support. Please vote yes for Proposition 1 to help ensure our continued access to these vital services locally.

Preston M. Simmons, DSc. is a current board member at South Peninsula Hospital and retired regional chief executive, from Providence Alaska.