Senate panel approves first step for new hospital in Livingston

Measure will kick-start effort to build new facility

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Senator Jon Tester and his colleagues on the Senate Appropriations Committee have passed legislation that will serve as a first step toward building a new hospital in Livingston, Tester and Senator Max Baucus announced today.
 
The Livingston Regional Hospital is suffering space constraints and is unable to expand in its current location.  Livingston HealthCare plans to build a larger facility to better serve the community by bringing all of the hospital’s services, emergency wing, and personnel under one roof.
 
The Senate Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Act includes funding to help Livingston HealthCare launch its efforts to build the new hospital.
 
Sam Pleshar, CEO of Livingston HealthCare, says the funding will be a valuable kick start as the hospital begins to raise money to build the new facility.
 
“We are incredibly excited and grateful for this opportunity,” Pleshar said. “We believe that the new hospital is essential for the health of local residents and of the local community and we appreciate the support of Senators Tester and Baucus in helping us achieve that.”
 
“Livingston clearly needs a new hospital where all of the patient care and hospital employees are housed under one roof,” Tester said. “This is a great first step towards building a state-of-the-art hospital for Park County, and it’s a smart investment in Montana’s families and our health care infrastructure.”
 
“High quality healthcare is critical for all of our communities and one of the ways we make sure health care is top quality is by making sure the facilities are top notch,” Baucus said. “I look forward to working with the community of Livingston in the coming years as the new hospital becomes a reality.”

Under the current legislation, the Livingston HealthCare Foundation would receive $150,000.
 
The legislation must first pass the full Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives before the funding can be signed into law.

For a full list of funding for Montana under the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, click HERE.

• A federal appropriations bill funds the federal government.  12 appropriations bills will fund the federal government for the next Fiscal Year.
• Less than one half of one percent of these appropriations bills consist of congressionally directed funding (also called “earmarks”).  This funding is not additional spending for the federal government, nor does it increase federal deficit.  Rather, it is a set of directions telling the government where it must use existing funds.
• In the past, appropriations funding had been abused by anonymous requests with little transparency.
• Since 2007, the process was overhauled to guarantee transparency and fair debate in Congress.
• All of Tester’s and Baucus’ appropriations requests are online HERE and HERE.