about us
Statement of Purpose:
The Nocona General Hospital Foundation was formed in November 2022 as a Texas non-profit corporation. Its purpose as stated in its charter is to promote the healthcare of the residents of Montague County by supporting the mission and aims of the Nocona General Hospital (NGH), a municipal (non-profit) hospital created by the Nocona Hospital District. The Foundation filed an appliation for exemption with the Internal Revenue Service under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and such exemption was granted January 19, 2023.
Goals:
Rural hospitals in Texas are defined as those in counties of less than 60,000, of which 198 of Texas' 254 counties qualify, including Montague County with fewer than 20,000 residents. Rural hospitals as a group face a heightened risk of financial loss and closure. Twenty-one rural hospitals have closed in Texas in the last decade, more than any other state. A report from Kaufman Hall found 26% of Texas rural hospitals at risk of closure in 2022 compared to 16% in 2020. One of the two Montague county hospitals, in Bowie, closed in 2015. It partially reopened as an emergency care clinic, but closed in October 2024. Most closed rural hospitals fail to reopen at all.
Nocona General Hospital has been successful at continuing to provide a good range of services for a community its size, including out-patient clinic, emergency room, EMS and ambulance, surgeries, home-health, physical therapy, testing, four-bed ICU and 18 bed in-hospital patient care. The onsite physical therapy center also doubles as a fitness center open to the community. However, NGH operates on a razor-thin margin. For its last full fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, the Hospital's net operating loss was $1.73 million. These kinds of operating losses are typical among rural hospitals. As a municipal entity, the hospital received tax revenues to support its operations; however, for the last year those tax receipts were only $448,000, less than 4% of its total patient revenues and one of the lowest tax rates in Texas. In addition, for the past 5 years, the Hospital has participated in a federal/state program called QIPP, under which rural hospitals are able to act as fiscal agents for private, for-profit nursing homes and capture a share of their Medicare reimbursements. This program has allowed the Hospital to operate profitably and has enabled a strong building program to remodel all facilities to be attractive and useful for years to come.
While QIPP has been a great benefit to the Hospital to be sure, its days are numbered. NGH already faces competition from other rural hospitals, and the payment rates are declining. We must prepare for the day when federal budget cuts to healthcare claim QIPP as another victim.
In light of these conditions, the NGH Board of Directors authorized the creation of a foundation to raise money in the community to create a rainy day fund and endowed source of capital to meet future needs. The Foundation will be making a public appeal for charitable and planned giving and hope it becomes an annual communication.