Hospital transformed

It was a tense year for Valley Hospital Association, which worked throughout the year to close the partnership deal between the hospital and Triad Hospitals Inc., a Texas-based company that has made a business out of purchasing and revamping community hospitals.

Effective Dec. 1, VHA and Triad signed a merger agreement, giving the hospital association just short of 25 percent of the market share of the joint venture, with Triad retaining just over 75 percent. But it was a long journey to reach that point.

2003, for the hospital, started with some weighty decisions by VHA staff. In 1999, VHA nurses voted to opt out of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers bargaining group that helped set contracts for many of the other VHA staff groups, citing a feelings that their needs as a working group were not recognized as part of the larger bargaining unit. Discussions began recently with the Alaska Nurses Association, and several meetings were held with union representatives. A petition to discuss joining the union was signed by more than 50 percent of the nurses involved, but talks with Triad were already well under way. Hospital management encouraged the nurses not to join, to give Triad a chance to meet their needs outside of a union arrangement. The argument resonated with several members of the group, but the discussions gave them a chance to talk about some of their fears and identify areas they've had difficulty in in the past. A vote was held in late January, and 92 of 125 nurses who cast ballots voted against organizing at this time.

While the discussion was going on, VHA administrative staff were preparing financial documents and pulling together information to close the merger deal. A certificate of need application had to be submitted to the state, outlining the planned expansion of the hospital, as well as justifying its need in the community. Although there was a delay in getting some the application sent off, it was sent off in April and deemed complete in early summer after state officials asked for additional information on a few topics.

State officials reviewed the information over the summer and hospital officials worked to secure a location for the new hospital. George Larson, CEO of VHA, announced the planned purchase of three plots of land, including those now occupied by the Best View RV and Mobile Home Parks, borough property occupied by the Mat-Su Convention and Visitor's Bureau and Veterans Wall of Honor, and a nearby plot owned by the University of Alaska. The land transactions were set to be finalized when the joint venture agreement was made final.

A few hurdles had to be overcome before the agreement could be finalized. One was a lingering covenant restricting the use of the city of Palmer land donated to the hospital in 1983. The covenant required that the land be used for a hospital or similar public purpose, but Larson, at the time, told Palmer city council members restrictions could jeopardize a merger between VHA and Triad.

City council members initially balked at the idea of handing over the donated land. But at the second meeting at which the body discussed the issue, the council decided -- barely -- to sell the land for roughly its assessed value. The decision resulted in a tied vote, but Palmer Mayor Jim Cooper broke the tie and voted in favor of selling the land for $120,000.

With a clear title in hand, the remaining hurdles were few. The certificate of need was approved in November, removing the last obstacle to signing off on the joint venture. That agreement was finalized Dec. 1, with a community celebration and meet-and-greet held the following week. Hospital officials plan to break ground in May, after an agreed-upon move-out date for residents of the trailer park that now occupies a portion of the land purchased for the new hospital.

But a few hurdles remain. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska will hear arguments for which city -- Palmer or Wasilla -- should provide sewer and water service to the facility, located almost midway between the two. A portion of the money to build the sewer and water service is also currently held up in the nation's omnibus spending bill, awaiting congressional action. But Don Kubley, VHA's Washington lobbyist, said at the community meet-and-greet there's little reason to worry about not getting the funding.

"Any time you have the Alaska delegation working in unison on anything, you stand a good chance," Kubley said.