St. Mark’s Buys Itself Some Time

One year ago a heated community vote over creating a tax to fund financially struggling St. Mark’s Medical Center in La Grange failed. Now, the hospital is not only still open, but has some financial breathing room for appears to be the next three years.

“Our current financial projections indicate St. Mark’s is in a sustainable financial position for the near term in part due to the relief from the CARES Act, but also due to actions taken after the Hospital District failed to pass,” said Dudley Piland the president and chairman of the St. Mark’s Board of Directors.

“Prior to COVID-19 we were able to reach a three year interest only deal with our mortgage holders that reduced our financial obligations by about a million dollars a year for each of those years. The principal was moved to the back end of our mortgage to give us an opportunity to keep our heads above water and three years to find a path forward for St. Mark’s.”

Then when the COVID-19 outbreak occurred worldwide, a new set of challenges presented itself.

“The two most significant impacts were the cessation of elective surgeries in accordance with the Governor’s instructions and the significant drop in the usage of the hospital in-patients services and the ER,” Piland said. “With the help of Fayette Savings Bank St. Mark’s secured funding from the Payroll Protection Program so that no employees were furloughed or lost their employment due to the COVID pandemic.”

St. Mark’s worked closely with the Emergency Management coordinators from both Fayette and Lee County to assist as needed with their efforts, Piland said.

The hospital is still managed by Plano-based Community Hospital Corporation, which Piland said was helpful in navigating the hospital through several issues.

“CHC has been invaluable during the COVID-19 experience in getting the maximum funding for St. Mark’s,” Piland said, “and keeping critical supplies in place through their supply chain process.”

He added that the local community was especially kind to St. Mark’s amidst the pandemic.

“The tremendous outpouring of community support for our staff and medical staff - from meals and snacks to masks, hand sanitizer, sidewalk art and so much more. This support has been invaluable,” Piland said. “Those who have had reason to use the services of St. Mark’s have been very patient and supportive of our visitation, screening and masking practices which are in place to protect patients and staff.”

Several weeks ago St. Mark’s re-started elective surgical procedures and imaging exams, “while ensuring the safety of our patients and staff,” Piland said.

St. Mark’s is providing all services at this point.

“Visitation restrictions continue to be in place in alignment with state guidelines and we will share future changes as they occur,” Piland said.