originally published in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News February 3-4, 2007
By Judith L. Brown
I’ve been trying to sort through the arguments pro and con for allowing Latah County to sell Latah Health Services to Gritman Medical Center (for the grand price of $1 — more about that later). I have to date (knock on wood) never used any of the services offered at LHS, so I’ve had to take some time to figure out just what this transfer of ownership could mean for our community. How would the services it would offer support and add to the quality of life here? What might the broader economic development effects be?
Attention has focused on keeping the therapy pool open, for the simple reason that the next-nearest such pool is in Coeur d’Alene — too far away for those with arthritis or fibromyalgia and in need of the pool’s warm waters several times a week. The pool is a critical part of the overall package. In addition to maintaining the pool, Gritman has indicated that it plans to develop a wellness center offering an array of new and expanded services including perhaps a variety of exercise classes, a cancer resource center, a health library, and potentially a dialysis center and a free clinic. Additional much-needed space could become available for Hospice of the Palouse and for community support groups.
A particularly critical unmet need in our area is for expanded adult day health, for those unable to stay home alone while family members or other care providers are away. There’s currently a waiting list, and it’s growing. Gritman has indicated its intent to expand adult day health.
Another issue is not just whether such services are available in Latah County, but who would be able to use them and at what cost. As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit facility, Gritman Medical Center is community-owned and community-driven. Its governing board is made up of community residents. It has demonstrated its commitment to keeping health care in Latah County as affordable and accessible as possible.
Such a health and wellness center would be of benefit to residents now and into the future, and would help the community attract new residents. Moscow is promoted as a desirable place to retire. I certainly plan to spend my retirement years here. I worry sometimes, however, that Moscow will become so upscale that those of us who have spent our careers here will not be able to afford to retire here. That’s a challenge for smaller university communities like Moscow, which tend to offer a high quality of life. Academic salaries, however, fail to keep pace with salaries in the private sector. Furthermore, University of Idaho salaries are not keeping pace with other academic salaries, currently running something like 20 percent below salaries at peer institutions. So keeping this area affordable for UI retirees and other current community members, as well as attractive to newcomers, should be a real concern.
Then there are the economic development effects, the ripple effects of having such a health and wellness center in our community. Without a doubt, this area needs more good-paying jobs. Toward that end, the University of Idaho’s Business Technology Incubator and the Alturas Technology Park have been developed during the past decade and more, with some public support. Gritman Medical Center has a role to play in job creation too, wages in the health sector being among the best.
Gritman has not only a role to play in job creation, but a proven track record. In 2003, Gritman employed just over 300 people. After additional expansion, Gritman now employs 427 people at an average wage of $21.39 an hour ($44,490 annually) plus full benefits. The wellness center will make it possible for Gritman to create more such desirable jobs, contributing to the health and wellbeing of our local economy.
And that’s why it is a mistake to focus on the $1 price tag. Aside from the fact that Gritman will be assuming responsibility for deferred maintenance costs of more than $1 million, there are no other firm proposals for LHS — and a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. It’s not possible to compare the economic effects of Gritman’s proposal with some other as-yet-to-be-determined, perhaps pie-in-the-sky alternative.
Gritman’s proposal is here-and-now. I think it will help Moscow and Latah County develop as very livable communities for people of all ages and abilities. I’m voting “yes.”
* Judith L. Brown is an economist and director of the Idaho Center on Budget and Tax Policy. She lives in Moscow with her family and can be reached at jlbrown@turbonet.com.
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