Thursday, March 31, 2011

It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth, and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up, that we will begin to live each day to the fullest; as if it was the only one we had.

— Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.

— Mother Teresa

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

“To choose what is difficult all one’s days, as if it were easy, that is faith.”

— W. H. Auden

CEO outlines need for new hospital

Cloud County Health Center CEO Jim Wahlmeier said asking for a property tax to help pay for a new hospital would “probably be the last resort.”

But, he told the audience at Monday evening’s 2011 Concordia Speakers Series presentation, there is no question that a new hospital is needed.

Noting that the current facility opened 60 years ago this month — in March 1951 — Wahlmeier said, “There’s a saying that if you have your health, you have everything. The same is true of a community.”

The Norton native and Navy veteran began his presentation at the Nazareth Motherhouse auditorium by ticking off statistics on services provided at the hospital in the past year:

• 50 babies born
• 800 admissions
• 3,800 in-patient days
• 500 surgeries
• 3,800 emergency room visits
• 18,000 clinic visits
• 47,300 laboratory tests

He also briefly outlined the history of the hospital in Concordia.

The Sisters of St. Joseph opened St. Joseph’s Hospital on Fifth Street — in what is now Manna House of Prayer — in 1903, and then expanded it with St. Ann’s Home in 1916.

Four decades later, he said, “The sisters looked to the future” and began raising money for the hospital they would build on West 11^th Street. When the new St. Joseph’s Hospital opened, the five-story, 150-bed facility had cost $1.75 million to build and an additional $250,000 to equip.

Ownership of the hospital eventually passed to what would become Salina Regional Medical Center, and then in 2002 it became an independent nonprofit hospital and was renamed Cloud County Health Center.

Today it has 172 employees and a payroll of more than $6 million.

But it remains a 60-year-old facility in an era when medical care — and patient expectations — have changed dramatically, Wahlmeier told the audience of nearly 70 people.

In 2007, the building costs for remodeling the old hospital were estimated at $16.3 million, while the construction expense for a new facility was expected to cost $17 million.

Added to that construction cost for a new hospital were the expenses of acquiring property, hiring architects and figuring in contingencies and debt service. Together, the total was almost $29 million when the hospital board put a general obligation bond before Cloud County taxpayers in November 2008.

Voters said no.

The new plan that Wahlmeier discussed Monday evening would cost about $20 million.

The federal government, through Medicare, would pay about  $11 million, or 55 percent, of that cost and the hospital itself would pay roughly $3 million from its equipment fund, so the shortfall is expected to be in the neighborhood of $6 million. Other grants and federal funds might be available to cover some of that cost, Wahlmeier said.

But before the final cost can be estimated, he added, the first step has to be acquiring the property for the new hospital.

The top site now being considered adjoins the airport property on the east side of Highway 81.

There are some conditions for use of that property, he noted, including coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration to upgrade the airport to accommodate more air traffic.

And, he said, “The (hospital) board has said we confirm that site by May or we start looking at another site.”

Other possible locations include land adjoining the current hospital property or sites south of Walmart and in the North Development area.

Once the site question is answered, the next step would be to hire an architect and finalize cost estimates.

If either a sales tax or property tax increase was required, “We’d let you know by August,” Wahlmeier said, so that the measure could be on the November ballot.

Wahlmeier was the second of eight scheduled presentations in the 2011 Concordia Speakers Series. Hosted by the Sisters of St. Joseph, the talks are all free and the public is encouraged to attend.

The next speaker will be CloudCorp Inc. executive director Kirk Lowell talking about economic development in rural communities. That will be April 25 beginning at 7 p.m.

Monday, March 28, 2011

“Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of the instruments, not the composer.”

~ Geoffrey B. Charlesworth

Overflow dinner crowd enjoys music, prizes, fellowship

Nearly 500 friends, family, volunteers, supporters and neighbors packed the Motherhouse this afternoon for the Sisters of St. Joseph annual spaghetti dinner.

• • • •

Part of the attraction of the year’s biggest fundraiser was a chance to renew old friendships and spend time with the sisters at the Motherhouse. But an additional draw this year were drawings for five special prizes donated for the event.

JoAnn and Roger Long of New Amelo, Kan., won the $500 cash prize, while Don Van Roekel of Logan, Kan., won the full-size quilt handmade by Sister Betty Suther. The other winners were Peggy Thompson of Beloit (a 19-inch television), Paul Splichal of Munden (a $250 gift card to Rod’s Thriftway) and Dolores Aytes of Concordia (a portable DVD player).

There were also door prizes drawn throughout the afternoon for table runner sets made by the women at the Neighbor to Neighbor center in downtown Concordia, one of the newest sponsored ministries of the Sisters of St. Joseph

About 60 Sisters of St. Joseph from throughout Kansas were on hand to greet the guests. They served as hostesses and servers throughout the dinner, plus offered a bake sale and led tours through the historic Nazareth Motherhouse.

The overflow crowd was treated to five performances of  live music, ranging from a classical guitarist to a clarinet quartet. Cloud County Community College band director Patrick Sieben helped arrange the performances and played saxophone as part of The Bent Wind Ensemble.

One unexpected part of the afternoon was a surprise birthday cake and song for Fernanda Mansilla, an international student from Chile and a member of the women’s basketball team at Cloud County Community College. She and several other team members came to the dinner as guests of Jim and Marilyn Douglass, who asked if the sisters could acknowledge Fernanda’s 20th birthday today.

This was the fourth year for the spaghetti dinner. Attendance last year was estimated at about 375, while this year 480 dinners were served.

Sister Loretta Jasper was instrumental in coordinating the dinner, which was organized by Sister Jean Rosemarynoski and the Development Office.

The proceeds from the dinner benefit the various ministries and programs of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

For another slideshow with another 20 photos from the dinner, CLICK HERE.

More photos from Sunday’s Spaghetti Dinner

Here’s another slideshow capturing the annual Motherhouse Spaghetti Dinner.

Saturday & Sunday, March 26 & 27, 2011

“There is no more noble occupation in the world than to assist another human being — to help someone to succeed.”

— Alan Loy McGinnus

Friday, March 25, 2011

“The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.”

~ Bern Williams

Thursday, March 24, 2011

It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.

— Eleanor Roosevelt

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