Beebe’s use of fund called ‘measured’

— When nearly 10,000 “Rainbow Family” members flocked to Arkansas in 2007, it was natural that some of them would get sick or hurt hanging out in the Ozark National Forest.

The closest hospital was the Johnson County Medical Center in Clarksville, about 30 miles down Arkansas 21.

“During that two-week period, we had well over $50,000 in unreimbursed emergency-related care,” said hospital administrator Larry Morse. “It was everything from staph infection to snake bites to a fall to a number of illnesses.”

In a financial tight spot, the hospital contacted local officials, who asked Gov. Mike Beebe for help.

Beebe looked to the Governor’s Emergency Fund, a $500,000 annual appropriation that the governor may use for expenses at his discretion.

He gave the Johnson County hospital $25,000 of it in 2008.

Since becoming governor in 2007, Beebe has used much less each year from the fund than he’s allowed by law.

In fiscal 2007 he used $275,000 of the fund; in fiscal 2008, $314,032; in fiscal 2009, $235,500; and in fiscal 2010, $70,160. So far in fiscal 2011, he’s spent $200,000.

The biggest payout came in 2007 after the tornado in Dumas. He sent $250,000 to the Delta Memorial Hospital in Dumas.

Most other large expenses have gone to state government matters, including:

$200,000 in 2011 to help with expenses related to legislative redistricting. This followed action by the Legislature during the 2010 session not to fund redistricting expenses with surplus money, which was shifted to legislative projects.

$200,000 in 2008 for a study on setting up a trauma system among hospitals in the state. Beebe later led efforts to pass increases in tobacco taxes to help fund better emergency-room care and other health programs.

$50,000 in 2009 to fund the operations of the Global Warming Commission analyzing environmental policy. The commission was made up of environmentalists and industry representatives. Limiting greenhouse-gas emissions in Arkansas was discussed, but no limits were imposed.

Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said the governor is “pretty measured” in his use of the fund.

“When we get requests we review them on a case-bycase basis,” DeCample said.

He said each request is judged on whether it is “an immediate need without an immediate funding source available.”

RAINBOW FAMILY

Morse said his hospital was deluged with about 75 emergency-room visits from “Rainbow Family” members during their stay in the Ozarks.

The Rainbow Family gathered in the Ozark National Forest in southern Newton County for several weeks, before and after a mass Fourth of July peace-prayer circle gathering.

The Rainbows are a loosely organized counterculture group that convenes each year in a national forest. The 2007 visit was the first to an Arkansas forest since 1975.

“It caught us a little offguard,” Morse said.

Most of those who went to the Johnson County hospital didn’t have insurance. Some were students from other countries “traveling the world,” he said.

“But we had one personwith meningitis who actually had insurance,” he said.

Before receiving money from the emergency fund, Morse said the hospital had to provide detailed documentation to the governor’s office demonstrating its uncompensated expenses. He said he appreciated the help.

Beebe years ago served on the board of a hospital in Searcy and has spoken about the financial troubles smalltown hospitals have with uncompensated care.

DeCample said the emergency fund was the only option for immediately helping the Dumas hospital cope with injuries from the tornado. He said the hospital didn’t meet guidelines to get money from another fund that disburses state money in case of natural disasters, the Disaster Relief Fund.

He said the Emergency Fund money helped the hospital “catch up” until it received reimbursements for some of the emergencyroom care from the Medicaid program.

A spokesman for the hospital said its current administrators didn’t work at the hospital in 2007 and didn’tknow anything about the money from the governor’s office.

OTHER EVENTS

DeCample said the governor also uses the fund for the arts and cultural events, such as film festivals, when no other immediate funding source is available.

“When you can foster good cultural environments in communities, it helps with economic development,” he said.

For instance, Beebe sent $20,000 in 2008 and another $20,000 in 2009 to the Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute, which puts on a documentary festival every year.

The fund also helped the Arkansas Press Association fund printing costs for the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act handbook, with $1,500 in 2008 and $2,000 in 2010.

Tom Larimer, executive director of the press association, said the governor’s office has historically contributed to the production of the books along with The Associated Press and the attorney general’s office, among others. The handbook, now in its 14th edition, is printed every two years to incorporate changes in public-records laws passed by the Legislature.

“As far as I know, the office of the governor has contributed to the production of the [Freedom of Information Act] Handbook since its inception,” Larimer said.

In 2008, the governor spent $30,000 from the fund to help Just Communities of Arkansas put on a “community conflict” seminar to help heal racial division.

“As an organization that works to bring people together for civil discussion, we felt that we needed some way to help citizens work through disagreements,” said Ruth Shepherd, the group’s executive director. “Therefore, we submitted a request to the governor’s office for help.”

She said the group was particularly concerned about disagreements in Little Rock over the school board.

She said the group got money from several sources, including Entergy and the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce.

“The governor has not been actively involved with [Just Communities] although we had previously worked with him on the issue of hate crimes when he was attorney general,” Shepherd said. “In addition, he allowed us to honor him with our annual humanitarian award in 2009.”

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 02/22/2011

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