The entirety of the meeting can seen in the video below the photos that accompany this story.

The city of Hope’s Board of Directors voted Tuesday to accept the same lease and also provide $1 million in funds to the Pafford-owned hospital. Pafford took over operations of the hospital which had been named Wadley Regional Medical Center in Hope in mid-September immediately after Southern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher Lopez approved the sale to Pafford of the hospital’s license from the bankrupt Steward Healthcare. 

It was this quick changeover that is part of the reason Pafford requested funds from the county and the city, according to Justice of the Peace Ed Darling, head of the Quorum Court’s budget committee and also an experienced hospital executive himself.  

“Essentially the bankruptcy judge met and said, ‘Here are the keys to the castle.’ Jamie [Pafford-Grisham, CEO of Pafford Health Systems] and her group had asked for about 60 days leeway for a transition period. But they didn't have it. So they've been operating about 55 days. It wasn't that they weren't ready for it. It just came a little earlier than they expected,” Darling said. 

The lease and stabilization financing agreements represented months of work in negotiations among representatives of the city of Hope, the county of Hempstead and Pafford Health Systems, Darling said. He expressed confidence it was the best agreement possible in that it protected all the parties in case of the hospital failing.  “There are protections in there for the liabilities that might be incurred by the city, by the county, by the operating entity. For those of you who don't know healthcare, it is a high-risk business. Many times it's low reward, but it's a high reward in the patients you serve, and that's what you have to keep in mind.” 

The lease agreement includes a $200,000 cap per year of spending required by Pafford on maintenance and replacement. After that amount is spent, Pafford can return to the city board and county quorum court to request the two government entities approve additional spending, but that spending would include 1/3rd contributions from each of the three entities in the agreement, Pafford, the city of Hope and Hempstead County. 

Darling said, “The state required us to put a certain wording in there as to the disposition of assets” so the hospital ownership group’s request of Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the Arkansas Legislative Council for a little over $6 million in state funds has a greater likelihood of success. 

On the matter of when Southwest Arkansas Regional can begin receiving funds for services rendered from Medicare, Medicaid and other insurance programs, Darling said the Pafford ownership group asked for the provider number. “The judge agreed to it, signed off on it. Why did it not happen? Who knows? Probably because there weren’t enough Steward people left to see that it happened. Why do I mention that? Because that did directly affect their—I should say our—cash flow.” 

This means, Darling said, the hospital owners “had to start up essentially with zero to no cash, and that's what brought us to where we are today. This operating agreement and this ordinance we're about to present to you is to give us those cash flows that are necessary to see us through these early times.”  

Darling added that his seeing a helicopter taking off from the hospital around noon today reminded him of the importance of it in the community. “I'm glad that hospital was there. That. probably saved somebody's life,” he said. 

With this he asked County Clerk Karen Smith to read the appropriation ordinance, which amended an ordinance passed June 21st of this year so that the $1 million pledged by the county for use in saving Hope’s hospital can be used as stabilization funds for Southwest Regional Hospital.  Like the city, the county will write a check for $400,000 to the hospital ownership group immediately, then make six payments of $100,000 per month with the first payment due December 15th. 

After the reading, JP Jay Lathrop asked whether the county might have to commit further funds in the future. 

“The answer is, we hope not,” Darling said. “But if we can get some funding from the state, some of that can do some of the big things we need to do [so] that likelihood [of the county needing to commit more funds] is not very high, but the answer is we're limited in what additional monies we have available.” 

Judge Crane said, “Once we sign this and move on, the state will review this, take it to the legislative body, and that's when possibly we will get money to help this. And there’s other things going on where more money could come in.” He was complimentary of the way the city and the county had worked together in negotiations that involved the government entities, the Hempstead County Economic Development Corporation and Pafford. 

The roll call vote was unanimously approved, prompting the audience, which included several elected leaders, executives from Pafford and Hempstead County Economic Development Corporation staff, to applaud. 

Pafford CEO Jamie Pafford-Gresham asked, “May I give a short report” and was welcomed to do so by County Judge Jerry Crane.  She began by thanking the Quorum Court and the Hope City Board “for stepping up to the plate.”  

Noting that today the company paid out its fourth payroll since taking up operations of the hospital, she said, “It's very important for us to have the support of the community, for people to understand there are folks ready to take care of their needs out there, and when we can't take care of their needs, they will be transferred out and the proper care given to them at a higher-level-of-care facility. So we're very comfortable and confident that this hospital right here can do everything they're doing in Texarkana to stabilize you and get you breathing. So don't be afraid of it. Don't call it a band-aid station because we're far from that. 

“We appreciate you all continuing to work to help us try to get the funds from the state. They're necessary and pretty much required, because there are some repairs to the facility [needed]. And all of us agree that we're all going to sit down to the table when we've got something and try to figure out how we're going to pay for it if we truly have to do something at some point in time, but we're prayerful that we can get those funds, and then it will help us get through what they call the valley of death,” she said. 

Pafford-Gresham expressed pride in the Pafford team. “and then I'm humbled by the employees and our associates at the hospital that are giving us grace and helping us learn what they have going so that we can work together to make it better for everyone. Is it perfect? No. But we're taking care of people, and if we can all just remember to take care of people first, we're going to do the right thing to get to the right end result,” she said. 

Judge Jerry Crane thanked County Clerk Smith and County Treasurer Judy Flowers for their help and thanked city attorney Randal Wright, who was listening in by phone. Wright said “I think the Quorum Court and City Board have done the most they can do in this situation.” 

After the meeting adjourned, Clay Hobbs, Chief Operating Officer was asked what was being done to hasten the day when Southwest Arkansas regional can receive payments from federal insurance.  He said the matter is tied up in bankruptcy court at the moment.  Pafford, he said, since assuming ownership has spent at least several million to upgrade the facility and its equipment easily exceeding the $200,000 cap of what it is required to spend per year already.