CAMDEN — In our estimation, Ouachita County Medical Center President/CEO Peggy Abbott has provided a prompt and thorough response to statements during the recent mayoral election debate about the hospital’s use of the one-cent sales tax approved by voters.
Questions were raised about the representation of the tax issue by the hospital to voters prior to the election and the use of tax revenue, as well as other aspects of hospital operations.
Without rehashing the details of the statements and Abbott’s reply, we do express support for our local hospital and appreciation for its continued service to the community as a locally administered medical facility.
Space here is not adequate to reiterate those details, but for those who would like to re-familiarize themselves with the tax issue as it was presented - or wish to learn about hospital finances in general - we urge you to read the article in the Wednesday, Oct. 3, edition of the Camden News. Copies are available, and the article can be read online.
While discussing the Ouachita County Medical Center, we use the opportunity to express our gratitude that we are a small community fortunate enough to still have a medical facility that is, as we stated earlier, locally administered.
We understand the economic struggles of maintaining a local hospital, some of which were detailed in the Oct. 3 Camden News article. This OCMC administration and the preceding ones have coped with financial challenges, worked to continually improve the facility, and dealt with the ever-changing medical field. It is not an easy job, and we just want the folks at OCMC to know we appreciate it.