DAYTON--Ron Asmus, owner of Ron Asmus Homes, Inc in the Tri-Cities, is moving ahead with construction of the new Assisted Living Facility units and he expects construction to begin within the next thirty days. The monthly cost of each leased unit, originally calculated at $12,000 each, has shot up an additional $2,000, because of the high cost of lumber and other building materials, according to CCHS CEO Shane McGuire at last week's hospital board meeting.

"Everything is more expensive, right now," McGuire explained.

Funds are trickling in for the Acute Care Hallway Project which will connect the hospital to a wing of the Booker Rest Home. The project will create two negative-air isolation rooms for treating patients with infectious disease, like Covid-19. McGuire told the board last month the project was shovel ready but lacked complete funding.

A USDA grant application has been submitted to the American Rescue Plan Act, Emergency Rural Health Care Grant Program. The process for scoring and selection of the applicants will be completed by Oct. 12 and the district looks forward to receiving an award in the amount of $840,000, which is thirty percent of the total cost of the 2.4 million Acute Care Hallway Project. Other funding for the project is from the $1.5 million received from Provider Relief Funds associated with the federal CARES Act.

McGuire said, "If we are able to access the balance of the Provider Relief Funds and we are a recipient of the USDA grant, we would begin construction on the Acute Care project this year,"

The Hospital District is anticipating an award in the amount of $252,684 from funding distributed to the states from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services for small rural hospitals. These funds are to be used to support daily operations and cover the higher costs of care specifically associated with COVID-19. They can't be used for capital projects, McGuire said.

"There continue to be new funding opportunities announced every day," he said.

The district is also waiting for portals to open so that an application can be made to receive funding focusing on rural health care providers with large Medicare and Medicaid populations.

McGuire spoke to Governor Jay Inslee's proclamation that COVID-19 vaccinations are required for health care workers with a deadline of October 18.

At the last count, ten CCHS employees are refusing the COVID-19 vaccination and the accommodation made for them which includes masking and eye protection, and weekly testing. There has been one refusal in Acute Care, one refusal in the Finance Department, one refusal in the Revenue Cycle office, one refusal in Information Technology, two refusals in the clinics and four refusals at the Booker Rest Home. Two employees are undecided. Several have turned in two-week notices and have left employment with CCHS. Several will work until the Oct. 18 deadline and McGuire said he is grateful to those particular employees.

He said the number of COVID-19 tests and the number of positive tests has declined, locally. Statewide, Covid-19 hospitalizations were at 23 percent with ICU utilization at 36-percent. Total ICU bed utilization throughout the State remains at 92 percent of staffed beds. Hospitals reported no Acute Care bed availability 89 times, and no ICU bed availability 78 times in the week ending September 20.

Gross revenue for the month of August was the single highest ever for CCHS at $656,951 McGuire said.

Some of the patient volumes in service lines like rehabilitation therapy, lab tests, and emergency room visits for August were at an all-time high. The Waitsburg Clinic has reversed a downward trend in patient volumes and McGuire expects the same for the Columbia Family Clinic.

A contract with the Waitsburg School District for Speech, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy services has been renewed.

"Waitsburg continues to be a great partner and provides for opportunities to meet with students and staff regarding health care, and health care careers," he said.