Northern Nye hospital district approves terms of ownership transfer

Earlier this month, the Nye County Commission adopted a resolution to transfer the ownership of the former Nye Regional Medical Center in Tonopah from the county to the Northern Nye County Hospital District.

Now, the hospital district has also approved the terms and conditions of that transfer.

The move was approved at the regular meeting of the hospital district board of trustees on Friday, Aug. 16.

“They (hospital board) approved to accept the terms and conditions set forth in the Memorandum of Agreement and Nye County Resolution No. 2019-23 pending legal review of all associated documents and procurement of assurance from the county that the title is free and clear, these two conditions are to be performed by the district’s legal counsel,” Nye County Assistant Manager Lorina Dellinger told the Times-Bonanza. “I anticipate at least 30 days for a transition period before the deed is recorded.”

On Aug. 15, the Times-Bonanza reported that the former Nye Regional Medical Center in Tonopah would no longer be under Nye County ownership following approval of an agenda item that allowed for the property to be deeded to the Northern Nye County Hospital District, the entity that oversees the operation of that facility.

The item came as a result of a request from the hospital district for such action, according to the information provided with the agenda. The county drew up the legal paperwork, delineating several conditions of approval and the request was ready to be addressed at the Nye County Commission’s Aug. 6 meeting.

Nye County Commissioner Lorinda Wichman, who is the commission liaison for the Northern Nye County Hospital District, made the motion to adopt the resolution to transfer the property, contingent upon the hospital district’s agreement with the stipulated conditions. These include that all liability, maintenance responsibility and financial operations would transfer to the hospital district along with property ownership.

The item was brought to a vote and passed 4-1 with commissioner Donna Cox the sole voice against. The motion to approve a resolution transferring the lease agreement with Reno-based Renown Health to the hospital district also passed 4-1, with Cox the only dissenting vote.

“The Northern Nye County Hospital District should be the authority behind decisions for the Regional Medical Center,” Wichman said after the item received approval. “As the district was only recently formed, it took some time for them to achieve financial stability. The county provided services, as the owner of record, until the district reached the point that it could maintain and manage the property.

“The transition time was a scheduling challenge for the county, the district and the lessee (Renown Health). It is no longer necessary to task county staff with those duties, since the transfer. With one less entity involved, the transfer should also streamline the efforts to bring in additional services to the community.”

Renown has had telemedicine services in Tonopah since 2016, following the closure of Nye Regional Medical Center in Tonopah. The health care provider announced it was bringing in a full-time physician’s assistant at the end of 2018.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com