Financial Woes at the K.H.M.H.A.; Half a Million Still Outstanding from GOB
The Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital has not been exempted from the challenging economic times. As viewers may recall, there are hundreds of thousands of dollars in outstanding debts to the institution. What you may not know is among the delinquents is the Government of Belize itself. Doctor Andre Sosa says GOB owes the hospital about five hundred thousand dollars, to reimburse them for what they spent to retrofit the COVID unit at the national referral hospital. The K.H.M.H. Authority has just brought onboard a new financial controller who will be looking at a new strategy to collect unpaid bills, among other mechanisms to keep the national referral hospital out of the red.
Dr. Andre Sosa
Dr. Andre Sosa, Chair, Board of Governors, K.H.M.H.
“I can’t speak for the Ministry of Finance, what I will say though is that the K.H.M.H. uses the subvention to essentially pay salaries and that at this point is about ninety [to] ninety-five percent of the two point four million dollars that comes to us every month. We have spent over a million dollars, probably closer to two million dollars now in preparing the COVID unit, in supplying it with the different medications, protective gear and so on. And it is true to say that we have gotten reimbursement of some of that expenditure. However, we are still owed about five hundred thousand dollars for those expenditures that we have incurred. We are hoping that at some point, we will be able to get back those monies because not having access to those funds means that we are unable to do some of the other work that is necessary. And it also places us in a difficult position with regards to being able to fulfil our obligations to the people we owe.”
Reporter
“Owed by the government?”
Dr. Andre Sosa
“By the government yes. Bringing on a new financial controller, that person will be tasked with continuing the efforts of the last several months to formulate a strategy for collection. We know that collection in these troubled economic times will be difficult so we will not focus on just one strategy, but as many strategies as is possible so that we can get the monies that are necessary for investment to grow the hospital.”
