Hospital seeks $4.5 million in state bonds for equipment

Kalispell Regional Medical Center has requested that the Montana Facility Finance Authority issue $4.5 million in bonds for catheterization lab and informational technology equipment.

According to hospital spokesman Jim Oliverson, the cath lab equipment is for a second cath lab.

“We actually shelled in space for a second lab next to the first, knowing a second one was coming,” he said.

A cath lab is a room with diagnostic equipment used to support catheterization procedures in which a catheter and other devices are inserted in a large artery to accomplish procedures such as inserting stents.

Oliverson said this equipment adds electrophysiology to Kalispell Regional Medical Center’s coronary capabilities. He called it the final piece of the heart group that includes surgery and invasive cardiology.

He said an electrophysiologist will join the hospital in the near future.

“These are people who deal with electricity in the heart,” Oliverson said.

Oliverson said the new information technology equipment will move the hospital closer to electronic medical or health records that provide seamless transmission of information between providers.

“The government has made it very attractive for hospitals to do that,” Oliverson said.

Both Medicare and Medicaid offer incentive programs to encourage adoption of certified electronic health records. The goal is to reduce paperwork, reduce medical errors and improve the quality of care for patients through improved information sharing.

According to a press release from the Montana Facility Finance Authority, its board meets Thursday in Missoula to consider Kalispell Regional Medical Center’s request. Other requests on the agenda include bond requests for:

n $140 million for the Billings Clinic to refinance $99,850,000 in existing bonds and $39,150,000 to finance various new construction projects.

n $237,000 for Opportunity Resources Inc. to finance the purchase of Bellecrest Home in Missoula.

n $5.1 million for Sapphire Lutheran Homes Inc. in Hamilton to finance the purchase and remodel of a senior and assisted living facility as well as to refinance existing debt.

Montana Facility Finance Authority serves as a primary issuer of municipal bonds for Montana’s health care organizations, continuing care residential program and community service providers. It was created in 1983 to provide access to low-cost capital for not-for-profit health-care providers.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.