Mackinac County voters on November 3 will decide if 1.2 mills will be levied for operations at Mackinac Straits Hospital. The millage will support hospital operations and subsidize the long-term care service, which continues to struggle financially, Hospital Board Chairman Ron Mitchell said.

"If we were to run it without millage, it would be a million dollar loss," he said. "Without that [millage], we wouldn't be able to provide long-term care."

The hospital millage was first approved by voters county-wide in 1990, and then at five-year intervals thereafter. More than $1 million was raised with this millage in 2008, and nearly $4.9 million has been raised in the past five years. The current millage expires in December, and the new ballot measure, if passed, renews it for five more years.

Converted to taxes, one mill is assessed as $1 for each $1,000 of taxable value. For example, the owner of a house with a taxable value of $50,000, assessed 1.2 mills, would pay $60 in taxes a year.

One change that has taken place since the millage was last approved by voters in May 2005 is that the hospital operation shifted from a multigovernmental Hospital Authority to a private, nonprofit corporation named Mackinac Straits Health System in May 2008. Control of the old Hospital Authority was shared by the City of St. Ignace, St. Ignace Township, Moran Township, and Brevort Township. The new corporation is independent of the governmental entities.

The switch was made to take advantage of federal loans and other funding needed to build the new hospital near the Mackinac County airport. This facility is expected to open its doors next spring.

Both Mr. Mitchell and Mackinac County Commission Chair Dawn Nelson said this change of ownership will not affect how the county millage works, since residents are being taxed by the county, not directly by the hospital.

Since December 29, 1989, Mackinac County has contracted with Mackinac Straits Hospital to provide health services, including long-term care, to county residents.

St. Ignace City Attorney Prentiss M. Brown, Jr. said the county may not be required by law to provide this service, but as a governmental unit it is charged with making sure its constituents are taken care of.

"The county is stepping up to the plate and asking people throughout the county to help the hospital," Mr. Brown said, "and, in turn, the hospital says they will take care of the indigent people of the county."

Under the current health services contract, the hospital is required to disclose all its agreements and obligations, provide any financial information requested by the county, submit a yearly financial audit, and file a plan of operation within 30 days of the new contract's approval. These requirements are in addition to the primary focus of the agreement, which is for the county to help fund the hospital in exchange for it providing health services to all county residents.

Mrs. Nelson said the county is now drafting a new health service agreement which will be much like the previous ones, but nothing has been approved or signed by either party.

The funding provided through the millage is crucial for county residents to continue to have access to medical care, Mrs. Nelson said, and particularly important for senior citizens and patients in financial need.

"We are helping those who provide our health care to stay in the black," she said.

The county funds are used strictly for operation oft the hospital, Mr. Mitchell said, and not for any capital improvements like the proposed construction of a new long-term care facility at the new hospital site.

Other funding options for a possible new long-term care facility are being explored by hospital administration, including taking out U.S. Department of Agriculture loans, working with investors to raise the capital, and contracting with a developer to build the facility, and buy it back after project completion.

Mr. Mitchell said construction of a new long term care facility could improve efficiency and help the hospital make money, or at least break even in offering long-term care.

"The current facility is very inefficient,” he said. “It takes a lot of manpower to operate. With a new facility, we could possibly come closer to breaking even."

Mr. Mitchell said the millage helps the hospital remain profitable while providing essential services to county residents like the long-term care facility.

"We are confident that the voters will pass it," he said of the millage. "Our goal here is to provide a service to the county, and this is definitely a service the county needs."