The Mackinac Straits Hospital Authority Board held its last meeting as a managing board of the hospital Monday, June 16, with members (back row, from left) Richard Smith, Ron Mitchell, retiring member Don McArthur, Walt North; (middle row) retiring members George Ford, Jim Farero, and Al Feliksa, Fred Paquin; (front row) retiring member Kathy Lawnichak, Margaret Doud, and retiring member Pat Serwach. The Mackinac Straits Hospital Authority held a monthly meeting for the last time Monday, June 16. The hospital will now become a nonprofit, private corporation, managed by Mackinac Straits Health Systems, and the new organization will build the new hospital on North State Street in St. Ignace.

The old hospital authority will continue to meet at least once a year to maintain several employee contract stipulations that could not be transferred to the new corporation, but it will no longer oversee health care in Mackinac County.

Authority members who will not be serving on the new Health Systems board are Jim Farero, Al Feliksa, George Ford, Kathy Lawnichak, Don McArthur, and Pat Serwach. They received plaques commemorating their years of service to the hospital and the communities they represented: Mr. Farero from Clark Township, Mrs. Lawnichak from St. Ignace Township, Mr. Feliska from Moran Township, Mr. McArthur representing Garfield, Hudson, Newton, and Portage townships, and Mrs. Serwach from Brevort Township.

Authority members Margaret Doud of Mackinac Island, Ron Mitchell of St. Ignace Township, Senator Walter North of St. Ignace, Fred Paquin of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, and Richard Smith of Epoufette will serve on the Health Systems board. They will be joined by Patrick Shannon of Sault Ste. Marie and Mackinac Island and Steve Autore of Cedarville.

Also at the meeting, board members heard a brief financial report through March from Financial Officer Jason Anderson. The hospital lost $45,177, mostly because of higher costs and some necessary improvements, he said, but overall the hospital is showing a $48,793 year-to-date profit. Compared to last year's $482,628 deficit at the same time, he said, the profit is a welcome improvement.

"We've been pretty conservative," Mr. Anderson added.