By Sentinel Staff
The city released a draft of a joint Letter of Intent with SEARHC today, detailing the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium’s plans for taking over health care responsibilities for the Sitka community.
The 17-page LOI lists provisions for employment of Sitka Community Hospital workers, details of the transition process and the health care services that will be provided, in the future and during the interim. It calls for payment of a $500,000 “break-up fee” by either party that terminates the agreement after it is signed by both SEARHC and the city.
A draft of the letter was released by the city at 2 p.m. today. The letter and legal fees associated with the deal between SEARHC and the city are the only two items up for discussion at a special Assembly meeting set for 6 p.m. Thursday. The draft letter is available on the city website, as an attachment for Thursday’s Assembly meeting.
The letter lays out the purpose and intentions of the agreement between the two entities. That includes plans to provide health care for the community, build a new health-care campus on Japonski Island, operate Sitka Community Hospital at its present location in the interim, offer comparable employment to SCH employees, and mitigate the city’s pension liability for SCH employees.
The Assembly has given notice that it may go into executive session on the proposal. The proposed motion will be to go behind closed doors to discuss communications with outside counsel, and invite outside attorney Sandy Johnson, City Attorney Brian Hanson, City Administrator Keith Brady and Finance Director Jay Sweeney to participate, along with consultants Sarah Cave and Steve Huebner, who will participate by telephone.
If there’s a motion to sign the letter of intent, there will be an opportunity for public testimony, said city clerk Sara Peterson. The agenda also includes two periods for persons to be heard, one for items on the agenda and the other for any item on or off the agenda.
If the city signs the letter of intent, the city and SEARHC will begin to negotiate a “definitive agreement,” with a closing date before Sept. 30, 2019. The document will include agreements on purchase of assets, lease of Sitka Community property, escrow and bill of sale.
The draft letter says SEARHC will fund daily maintenance and capital expenditures “in support of delivering health care services currently available at SCH.”
It says the city will retain ownership of the hospital building and grounds, as well as the SCH balance sheet assets and liabilities as of the closing date.
The letter says SEARHC will provide equal access to health care services and facilities to all members of the community, and continue to provide all health care services provided at SCH for two years after the closing date.
The letter says that SCH employees will be offered positions of “a similar nature” and compensation and benefit levels of SEARHC employees.
