A few months ago, our community celebrated the 75th anniversary of what was originally known as Lexington Memorial Hospital but is now called Lafayette Regional Health Center.

A small rural community owning and having a critical access hospital (that is a Center for Medicare Services designation) is becoming rarer and rarer because of the financial pressures of finding 24/7 ambulance services for emergency and non-emergency transport, in-bed hospital services including surgery, diagnostic and laboratory services, outpatient specialists and recruiting healthcare workers in all areas.

It is a tall task made even more complicated and difficult by the constant changes to processes, regulations from the government and evolving technologies including advanced robotics and artificial intelligence. With these and many other moving parts, providing healthcare to rural communities takes economies of scale to purchase supplies, deep pockets to continue during times such as the Covid pandemic a few years ago and a strong commitment from the City they operate in.

Fortunately we have aligned ourselves since 1985 with HCA (Hospital Corporation of America) and they lease, manage and completely run our City owned hospital. We are part of their 190+ hospital healthcare system with process and business models in place across the nation large and small.

We are however one, if not the only, of their “lease managed” hospitals as they own nearly all of the others. The expertise, resources and depth of knowledge they bring to the table is irreplaceable and as a community we benefit from this expertise and their constant commitment to excellence and corporate citizenship. Their recent $10,000 donation to the Lexington Food Pantry is just one of many yearly examples of that citizenship.

Your Hospital Board of Trustees was appointed in 2015 and we continue to focus on the partnership with Lafayette Regional and look for ways to improve the relationship between the City and the hospital. Municipal Boards answer to the citizens and not the people who appoint them or approve them. With the constant turnover that is prevalent in City Administration here and other communities, it is important Boards operate independently, away from political turmoil and influence.

Decisions affecting the future of the Hospital belong in the hands of the Trustees and the consistency the members bring to the Board. We owe that consistency especially to the people at HCA who will have to decide once again in a few years whether to remain or to seek greener pastures elsewhere. They have made it clear they want to stay out of City government and deal with a knowledgeable Board of Trustees.

Your Hospital Board of Trustees represents you and this City and we take that obligation very seriously. Having a critical access hospital in our community is absolutely “critical” and we intend to do what it takes to make sure Lafayette Regional is here when you need it. That’s a “healthy” approach and one all of us deserve. I say in nearly every article… ”good health is true wealth.” I might change it and say…“access to good healthcare is true wealth.” It’s right here in Lexington and the Board intends for it to stay.

Year 76 is firmly under way…here’s to the future of LRHC.