The Llano County Commissioners Court and the Llano County Hospital Authority Board of Directors participated in a public workshop Monday afternoon to discuss the options for continued Llano Hospital and EMS service after the current contract with Baylor Scott & White expires at the end of this year.

All speakers seemed to agree that the only path for the Llano Hospital to continue functioning is to obtain Medicare's Critical Access Hospital designation which helps rural hospitals to financially succeed by substantially increasing the reimbursement amount the hospital receives for treating Medicare and Medicaid patients. An application for CAH designation can only be submitted by the entity currently operating the Llano Hospital, which is BS&W. Tim Ols, President of BS&W Health Hill Country Region said BS&W administrators will be meeting this week to determine whether when and if BS&W will submit an application for CAH designation for the Llano Hospital.

Bob Wallace, President of LCHA Board of Directors, said if Llano obtains CAH designation, the odds go up significantly that the Llano Hospital can remain open. However, without CAH designation, the odds of continuing Llano Hospital operations go down dramatically.

Patrick Cobb, Director of EMS with the Hamilton County Hospital District, introduced himself to the Commissioners and responded to their questions. Hamilton Hospital is a Critical Access Hospital, and their EMS is also certified as Critical Access. Hamilton recently began providing EMS service to San Saba. Hamilton could provide EMS service to Llano County via an inter-local governmental agreement which can be accomplished more quickly than a contract with a non-governmental entity that requires a competitive bidding process.

Individual LCHA Board members told the Commissioners they support entering into an inter-local agreement with Hamilton for EMS service, but the LCHA Board will meet formally within a week to vote on an official recommendation to the Commissioners.

The Commissioners and LCHA are continuing to explore all realistic options for continued hospital and EMS service to the county.