Columbia County adopts contract to fund new hospital once AU-Wellstar deal approved
The Columbia County Board of Commissioners this week approved a contract with the newly-established Hospital Authority, paving the way towards funding the new hospital.
"It's been a long time coming. We're the largest county population-wise in the state of Georgia without a hospital, and it's centered right in the middle of all of our growth," said Doug Duncan, chairman of the Board of Commissioners.
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The process started when Augusta University Health System got a state certificate of need authorizing them to build a hospital in Columbia County in 2014. Earlier this year the county established the Hospital Authority, and on Tuesday the commissioners approved a contract to issue up to $375 million in bonds through the hospital authority. Construction on the hospital has already begun using capital funds, according to AU Health.
"We are pleased to announce that we have started the construction process and are continuing to assess the community’s healthcare needs for additional opportunities," wrote Rick Plummer, assistant vice president for marketing and branding at AU Health in an email. "... Right now, our team is focused on transition planning for our potential partnership with Wellstar, but look forward to providing additional information in the future as the construction for the new hospital progresses."
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Columbia County has an obligation to backstop 20% of the bond, but unless other entities default the county will not be paying out any funds towards the construction.
The contract to move forward with the funding to build the hospital will not take effect until the AU Health partnership with Wellstar is finalized. The agreement, currently under review by the office of the Attorney General for Georgia, would see Wellstar step in as the sole corporate member of AU Health, creating the Wellstar MCG Health system.
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"It's been so long. It's been through many, many iterations. We're pleased AU has a solid funder with a proven track record of successfully running hospitals," Duncan said.
As part of the proposed deal, Wellstar will also take on the obligation to pay for previous bonds issued by AU Health in 2018 and 2021, and commits to finishing the Columbia County Hospital along with capital investments at Augusta University Medical Center. AU Health's bond rating was downgraded in March, based in part on the fact that the funding for the Columbia County hospital had not been finalized.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Columbia County approves contract for bonds on new hospital
