St. Mark’s No Longer Uses Machine Bought With County Grant Funding

St. Mark’s Medical Center no longer uses the $135,000 C-Arm imaging device it purchased just over a year ago with American Rescue Plan (ARP) grant funds, according to the hospital’s CEO Mark Kimball.

Fayette County Commissioners Court awarded St. Mark’s $500,000 in ARP funds in October 2021. Kimball told the Record that the hospital purchased the C-Arm device in December 2021.

The C-Arm is a real-time imaging machine that allows surgeons to see inside patients during operations. St. Mark’s eliminated surgical services when it transitioned to a Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) designation earlier this year.

“The St. Mark’s Board of Directors approved use of a portion of the Federal American Rescue Plan funds granted by Fayette County Commissioners to purchase a C-Arm imaging device in December 2021,” Kimball said in a statement to the Record last week. “This imaging equipment was used until February 2023, when the surgical services department closed as previously announced.”

Kimball said St. Mark’s did not consider the REH designation when it purchased the C-Arm. REH status was not available in Texas at that time.

Rural Emergency Hospital designation was established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump in December 2021. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) announced proposed rulemaking for REHs in July 2022. The REH designation became effective on the national level on Jan. 1, 2023. The State of Texas approved the REH designation on Jan. 13. St. Mark’s applied for the REH designation on Jan. 17.

“At the time the decision to purchase the equipment was made, the REH status in Texas was not available and was not part of the evaluation,” Kimball said. The REH status became an option only after Texas passed emergency legislation in mid-January creating the new category of Texas hospital license.”

The Record asked Kimball whether the hospital will sell the C-Arm since it is no longer in use. He responded by saying, “Our team continues to evaluate current and anticipated equipment needs as part of our on-going work for a long term solution to financially stabilize the hospital and continue providing needed healthcare services to Fayette and Lee Counties.”