Mayor Jerry Jackson initiated a special City Council meeting for 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 2, to allow the council to hear new information about the resolution placing a Baxter Health doctor into Harrison with matching money from the Rural Practice Program of UAMS and Baxter Regional Health.
Jackson stated after the meeting, “I really want us to focus on working together. We are fortunate to have great physicians and medical facilities, so our citizens can make the choice that best benefits their families.”
Baxter Health CEO/President Ron Peterson said after the meeting, “We are very fortunate the state has this Community Match program. When a physician comes, they receive $10,000 from the hospital (Baxter Health) and $10,000 from the State of Arkansas for four years. I think it’s very fortunate the state has this program to attract people to communities with a population under 20,000 – because that is, generically speaking, where it’s hardest to recruit. So it’s very beneficial. It’s also beneficial we can use that community match with the support of the City of Harrison. We appreciate that, too.”
After an hour of questions, answers, and discussion, the council voted five to one in favor of Resolution 1311. The resolution states that Baxter Health and the State of Arkansas will pay the doctor participating in the Arkansas Community Match Rural Physicians Recruitment Program. Dr. Witt will practice in Harrison for at least four years.
Regarding the special meeting, Mayor Jackson said, “I had no choice. I had to call this meeting to let the City Council and the community know what we’ve discovered. It’s my duty to bring to life new information as it pertains to a vote. I took an oath when I became mayor, and I’m sure that oath included being honest.”
Last week’s vote on the issue resulted in a tie, three for and three against. Legal council reminded council members that the mayor can only vote to break a tie when it is for the purpose of approval. Councilman Larry Phillips abstained. With the Mayor’s no vote, the resolution did not pass.
Jackson explained the timeline of events. “Last week, two hours before the Council meeting, CFO Luke Feighert, COO Wade Phillips, and I met with Dr. Steve Beeler and Dan Bowers. They shared information from NARMC CEO/President Sammie Roberson that we only have a population of 351 people per doctor.”
“These numbers led us to believe we had five times the amount of doctors needed for the area,” Jackson said.
“My comments last week were based on a lot of bad information. Because of this, I am asking the city council to reconsider the resolution that supports Dr. Witt with Baxter Health,” Jackson said.
“I strongly believe that neither Dr. Beeler nor Dan Bowers knowingly shared bad information, but this needed to be corrected. That’s why I called a special meeting.”
“Over the weekend, after some research, I discovered that was drastically inaccurate,” Jackson said.
“I received an email on Monday from Sammie stating the number was 284 per doctor. She is only considering Harrison's population (13,000). The Boone County population is 37,000, and then add surrounding counties. The actual population for Boone County was 1,640 and 1,645, respectively, presented by two state agencies. The state average is 1,480 patients per doctor.”
Their website shows the name North Arkansas ‘Regional’ Medical Center. Their reach includes more than 80,000 people.
The discussion at Wednesday night’s meeting concerned defining primary care physicians and mid-level practitioners and whether they were covered in the statistics.
The speakers sometimes became very passionate about their position — whether for or against the resolution. Some were concerned with the perception the community wasn’t welcoming new physicians. Some were concerned with the number of doctors planning their retirement in the next few years. Some feared another doctor would hurt NARMC. Doctors who work with Baxter said they still use NARMC for many services. No one wanted to leave the community with a shortage of primary care physicians.
Roberson said she wished the state had a program like this to attract specialists to the area. “That’s what we need.”
Jackson said after the meeting, “We can work together. The doctor or hospital a person goes to is an individual choice. Thankfully, we still have the ability to make that choice. We can be very grateful for our regional medical community. They are here to serve us when we need them.”
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