’s
October 17, 2014 edition
The Pulse
Your regular check up on SCKMC activities Share your thoughts, story ideas, and comments by e-mail to claytonp@sckrmc.org.
Final Sales Tax Meeting Monday With only weeks left before the November election, representatives from SCKMC have been busy meeting with the public to discuss the need for a ten-year, one-half cent sales tax. Should the tax pass, funds would be used for a variety of health initiatives including physician recruitment and development of an afterhours urgent care clinic. "Every effort will be made to inform the public so they may weigh in to decide the issue," said Steve Perkins, SCKMC's Chief Executive Officer. Perkins and Chief Marketing Officer, Clayton Pappan have met with several groups over the past eight weeks explaining their position. They have one more public meeting planned. Hospital representatives will be available at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, October 20th for a town hall forum scheduled to be held at the Arkansas City Senior Center. The meeting will also include representatives from the City of Arkansas City. “We won’t be making a formal presentation Monday night. We will be providing information, but would like to keep it more casual than some of our other meetings. Our plan is to simply have a conversation with those in attendance, allowing as much time as possible to answer their questions directly,” Pappan said.
Fair Food Facts
Arkalalah is almost here. That means parades, rides, and of course food booths. With so many tempting foods available it can be challenging to make good food choices. To offset some of the calories, try splitting food with a friend, stay hydrated by drinking water instead of sweetened beverages, and watch your intake of fried foods. If you are still tempted, keep in mind some nutritional info on your favorite fair foods. Food Calories Blooming Onion 1565 Bratwurst 420 Caramel Apple 243 Cinnamon Rolls 309 Corn Dog 210 Corn Cob w/ butter 148 Cotton Candy 220 Foot Long Hot Dog 560 Funnel Cake 356 Gyro w/ Meat 510 Kettle Corn – 6 cups 210 Pancake 175 Snow Cone 270 Turkey Drumstick 363
Carb (g) 186 25 54 42 25 33 56 39 49 42 24 22 68 0
Fat (g) Fiber (g) 84 25 27 1 4 4 14 2 10 2 2 2 0 0 35 2 16 1 29 2 12 3 7 0 0 0 19 0
Small Investment. Big Benefits A closer look at the SCKMC sales tax initiative – Part 5 For several editions now we have been answering some of the most common questions related to a ten-year, one-half cent sales tax for SCKMC. The tax will be voted on by the citizens of Arkansas City during the November 4th general election. Q. Why can’t the hospital use funds collected from the current sales tax for physician recruitment?
A. The funds from the 2009 sales tax vote were designated for use specifically for debt service of the bonds issued for construction of the new hospital, and cannot be used for any other purpose. To date SCKMC has made all debt service payments in full and on time, totaling $8,685,812. Of those payments, less than half ($4,187,040) had been collected through the sales tax. A new sales tax would allow SCKMC to secure the majority of the $2 million annual debt service, freeing funds currently tied to the hospital's general operations. The additional funding would allow for the finances required to recruit and establish more primary care physicians, and for development of alternatives to non-emergent ER care. If you would like more information about SCKMC's sales tax initiative visit us online at www.sckmc.org, e-mail us at salestax@sckrmc.org, or call us at (620) 441-5920. A special public meeting will be held on October 20 at 7:00 p.m. at the Arkansas City Senior Center.
Employee of the Month Congratulations, Joanne Holman - Infection Prevention & Education Coordinator, for being named the SCKMC Exceptional Service Award winner for the month of October! Joanne was nominated by a coworker for providing top-notch trainings for all staff. She was recognized for being informative and successfully using an engaging presentation style. If you would like to nominate someone for next month's award visit us at www.sckmc.org.
Small Investment. Vote Yes to support a ten-year, one-half cent sales tax initiative for your community hospital.
Big Benefits. SCKMC is asking the citizens of Arkansas City to vote during the November election for a ten-year, onehalf cent sales tax. Funds raised by the sales tax would support recruitment and establishment of fulltime, local physicians, and expand services of current providers. In addition, the funds would be used for development of alternatives to non-emergent ER care that would benefit the entire community.
TOWN HALL FORUM– Oct. 20th Join us at 7:00 p.m. at the Arkansas City Senior Center to learn more about the SCKMC one-half cent sales tax initiative. Hospital representatives will be available to answer your questions.
Find out more about the sales tax initiative at www.sckmc.org