For months, Trigg County’s Fiscal Court — with the help of private donors — had been working to make sure a baseball field at the Trigg County Recreation Complex would bear the name of Ralph K. Thomas.
During Monday night’s meeting, his family and friends got their wish, when Judge-Executive Stan Humphries and magistrates presented a plaque — confirming the Lady Wildcats softball home as “Ralph K. Thomas Field.”
Magistrate Mike Wright noted it’s a place Thomas knew all too well.
Eulogized as a team builder at every level of the youth diamond, he spent decades at the ballpark as a coach, mentor, role model and more, before his December 2023 death at the age of 83. He was a 1958 graduate of Trigg County High School and native of Lamasco in Lyon County, who would go on to serve 38 years with Hoover Ball and Bearing Company — later known as Johnson Controls — before retiring in 2004.
Wright noted that another larger sign will accompany the plaque.
In other fiscal court news:
— Through Dr. Ellie Jolly, President & CEO John Sumner, Kara Allen and Lori Blakeley, magistrates took in a considerable presentation regarding the past decade growth of the Trigg County Hospital.
It was the same in-depth presentation Jolly has made for both the Trigg County Chamber of Commerce and the Cadiz Rotary Club, with a few new details about the proud property and its officials.
+ Foremost, Jolly said the hospital is now projecting $30 million in revenue by the end of Fiscal Year 2025. Netting more than $5 million in profit annually since about 2018, she confirmed the locally-owned healthcare facility now has more than $22 million in on-hand cash: roughly equivalent to one year’s expenses without any capital gains.
+ Jolly said at the time, the 2021 purchasing of former Dr. William Anderson Main Street office for urologist Dr. James Fellows was not well received in the community. Instead, with Fellows in high demand, the decision paid itself off in eight months.
+ Jolly also confirmed that they are looking for a second full-time hospitalist and perhaps another case manager, so that weekend transfers could be accepted from other triage. She noted adding just one in-take patient for 52 weeks would add $1.4 million in extra revenue.
+ Jolly offered that one of the biggest reasons the hospital experienced financial downturn around 2015-16 was the fact that a strong surgery center didn’t have enough qualified surgeons to keep the unit busy. Now, that’s not the case.
+ Jolly also urged that the current “hospital tax” has been ill-referred, and should be remembered as an “ambulance tax.” Trigg County is one of but a few municipalities in west Kentucky still supporting its EMS, joining the likes of Murray and Marshall County, but that the offer “loses money.” Medicaid, she added, pays 9% on ambulance runs, Medicare pays 33%, and most private insurance companies, if lucky, pay up to 50%. The “ambulance tax,” now down from 10% to 7.6%, helps offset that lack of reimbursement.
She said officials are still awaiting news on a possible grant for construction of a new ambulance shack that would have three bays for three shifts.
+ She and Sumner also noted that the medical records unit may have to be moved to Dr. Bostick building, as growth continues on the main campus.
— John Oliphant was appointed to the Cadiz-Trigg County Planning and Zoning Commission, to replace Beth Ricks.
— The purchase of a 2024 CASE Backhoe, costing a little more than $134,000, was approved for the Trigg County Road Department, along with the surplussing of a used 2003 CASE Backhoe.
— And speaking of backhoes, Humphries said discussions with ER Assist have gone well, and magistrates approved for the company to bid out contracts for debris removal. Rough estimates are still calling for about $300,000 on six major roads with concerns, as well as $300,000 for the rest of the county. The damage stems from the Memorial Day weekend storms, and Humphries noted the court should be prepared for delays in FEMA reimbursements, following the devastation of Helene, and the coming damage from Hurricane Milton.
FULL HOSPITAL VISIT:
