Management change

A new contract will cede management of Purcell Municipal Hospital to SSM Health starting July 1.

The Purcell Public Works Authority accepted the 5-year contract on Monday.

City attorney Ted Haxel who negotiated the contract took the trustees through the key points.

The contract gives the city and SSM both a termination option with 180 days notice.

The contract can be terminated for any reason, he added.

Kem Scully, the hospital’s chief executive officer, will be an SSM employee and will be paid by PMH.

Management fees payable to SSM will be 2 percent of  Scully’s salary and benefits, plus 3 percent of patient revenue.

SSM will provide a budget for the hospital and any variance of $25,000 to $49,999 must be approved by the hospital board.

Variances of $50,000 or more require board and city council approval.

“This is a hybrid horse here,” Haxel told the trustees. “In my 45 years (practicing law), I have not seen this. It behooves both sides to be reasonable.”

Haxel  asked the trustees approve the contract “once all the t’s have been crossed.”

Those final wording changes are pending and once they are cleared by Haxel, PWA Chairman Ted Cox will sign the contract.

Trustees also declared an emergency and voted to solicit bids to replace the control valve at the city’s water storage facility at Lexington.

They also voted to seek bids for solid waste services.