Health dept. could bankroll rail-trail

Director urges board to OK spending $100,000 on project

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

The director of the Christian County Health Department wants to give $100,000 from the reserve fund to Hopkinsville’s rail-trail project.

But most members of the Board of Health fear the health department can’t afford it.

They need to save enough for a “rainy day,” said Dr. Wade Northington, the board’s new chairman. Several board members noted the budget shortfall in this fiscal year, financial troubles with the school nurse program and ongoing delays in Medicaid reimbursement.

The reserve fund has nearly $2.4 million.

Some $650,000 of that will go into the general fund by this summer, but more will come in too, Health Department Director Mark Pyle said.

JSMC credit rating downgraded

Fitch Ratings, one of the three major credit rating agencies in the U.S., downgraded Jennie Stuart Medical Center's rating from BBB+ to BBB. Fitch's analysts cited declines in inpatient the hospital was rendering, a small revenue base, and a large debt load.

The downgrade apparently won't affect the hospital's finances for now. But if it needs to borrow money in the near future, this rating could lead to higher interest rates.

In addition to the story in Friday's paper, the analysts' report is available here as a PDF.