HOBART – Kiowa County voters decided overwhelmingly on Tuesday to support a 1.5-cent sales tax that will keep Elkview General Hospital operating for the next 25 years.
More than 80% of voters cast their ballot in favor of the proposition while a slim minority of 16% were against the issue, according to election board figures.
Hospital administrator Lisa Hart said the election was vital to the facility as the only health care facility in Kiowa County. Southwest Ledger reached out to Hart after the election but received no response.
But before the vote, Hart made it clear the hospital would cut services or possibly shut down if the proposition failed.
Elkview is a small, independent hospital that has been in existence for 55 years, but “has never had financial support from the county,” Hart said last week. “We won’t be able to sustain the same level of services without some help.”
Sales tax proponents used radio commercials, social media and town hall meetings to educate voters about the hospital’s needs. Elkview General offers comprehensive hospital services, radiology, surgery and women’s health services.
Hart disclosed that hospital admissions are down 30% for July-December 2023 compared to the same time period a year earlier.
The sales tax money is needed because insurance companies have locked down the hospital’s ability to maintain its inpatient volume, and lower reimbursement rates from Medicare and Medicaid.
“In many instances, we have to take whatever they pay us. We can’t negotiate (better rates) because we’re small,” Hart said.
Of Kiowa County’s 8,800 residents, 3,700 (approximately 42%) live in Hobart.
Rural hospitals have suffered financially the last several years and have been forced to close their doors. Frederick shut down its operation while hospitals in Clinton and Sayre also closed during the l ast several years. It was reported that Clin ton’s hospital reopened in late 2023 with emer gency room services, radiology and lab services.