Voters To Decide On Hospital Funding Tuesday

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  • Voters will decide on a proposed one cent sales tax in support of Cordell Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. Bob Henline | The Cordell Beacon
    Voters will decide on a proposed one cent sales tax in support of Cordell Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. Bob Henline | The Cordell Beacon
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In less than one week Cordell voters will take to the polls to decide on a new one cent sales tax to help financially support Cordell Memorial Hospital.

As the citizens of Cordell prepare to cast their ballots, Cordell Memorial Hospital CEO Kenny Downs told The Beacon how important this election is, not only to the hospital, but to the greater Cordell community as a whole.

“I know that the support of the community is crucial to the hospital’s future and, conversely, the future of the hospital is crucial to the prosperity of the community,” he said.

Downs spoke about the importance of Cordell’s residents having immediate, local access to quality health care in both critical emergencies and for regular medical care. During the past fiscal year nearly 2,000 patients were treated at Cordell Memorial Hospital’s emergency room and more than 300 were admitted for longer-term care and treatment.

“In the last fiscal year Cordell Memorial Hospital provided services to 318 inpatients and saw a total of 1,776 patients in the emergency room,” Downs said. “Numerous patients are stabilized at Cordell Memorial Hospital each month and sent to surgical centers and advanced care facilities via medi-flight services utilizing the hospital’s helipad and various ground EMS providers.”

In addition to emergency and inpatient care, Downs said the hospital provides a number of other health and community services to the people of Cordell.

“The Cordell Family Clinic, which is operated by the hospital, has three providers on staff to serve the needs of Cordell and the surrounding comhospital also offers swing bed services, which allow residents to do exteneded care and therapy close to home when necessary. We also offer heart scans all year-around for just $25.00, and in February for the special rate of just $15.00. These low cost services have the potential to save lives - and have saved numerous lives over the years. In the past three years, Cordell Memorial Hospital has averaged performing 434 of these scans each year.”

In addition to providing health care, Downs said the hospital makes significant contributions to the area’s overall economy.

“Cordell Memorial Hospital has 50 employees and an annual payroll in excess of four million dollars, much of which finds its way back into the local economy when hospital employees shop with local businesses,” he said. “Virtually all local businesses are impacted positively by the hospital’s payroll dollars. Local pharmacies, the nursing home, and the Baptist Village would all suffer at the least, and perhaps not survive, without the hospital and the clinic. The decline and/ or loss of these businesses would further reduce the dollars going into the local economy. The loss of the hospital and these associated businesses would cripple the local economy. It would likely adversely impact property values making real estate far less attractive as an investment.”

Downs said he greatly appreciates the support the hospital has received from the members of the Cordell community and urged everyone to go to the polls on Sept. 10, 2019, to support the sales tax proposal.

bob henline can be reached at

editor@cordellbeacon.com.