GREEN RIVER - Hospital administrators should take into account the recent increase in private health care providers and how it might affect a planned expansion of the Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County (MHSC), city residents said during a meeting Thursday.

A handful of local residents attended the second of two meetings to gather public input on a proposed hospital renovation project that could cost as much as $28 million.

Hospital officials say the 25-year-old facility is in need of an upgrade to stay competitive in the ever-changing world of medicine.

The hospital, designed in the early 1970s, was built with a focus on inpatient care, but the trend in recent years has moved toward increased outpatient services. Expansion plans calls for major upgrades in emergency room facilities, labor and delivery services and same-day surgical facilities.

Demands for new treatments and programs, escalating costs and new federal regulations make it imperative the hospital consider changes to its services and facilities, officials said.

A newly-formed Joint Powers Hospital Board will seek financing from the state and from the sale of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secured revenue bonds to finance the remodeling project, according to plans.

Green River resident Art Kalivas told hospital officials he was concerned that increased competition from the private sector could affect the hospital's ability to pay back those revenue bonds.

"My concern is that more and more (private) facilities are opening around the community … where people go to have that (outpatient) surgery done," Kalivas said.

"I'm worried the revenue might not be there to pay it back," he said.

Hospital officials said they could do little about the increase in private health services such as surgery centers, but can concentrate on building a newer, more modern facility to compete with private industry.

"If we do nothing, we may encourage more competition," MHSC Board of Trustees Chairman Larry Caller said.

"We've got to stay modern or risk losing additional business to our competitors," he said.

"We've got no control over those private entities and what they build," Caller said. "The only thing we can do is make this hospital the best that we can to be competitive."

Hospital Executive Director John Ferry agreed. "We're hoping we have a nice facility that can be competitive price-wise and can provide the service and convenience to try and go head-to-head" with private health care providers, he said.