MEMORANDUM

TO:                Ron Long, Assembly President

Members of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly

THRU:           John J. Williams, Borough Mayor

Craig Chapman, Finance Director

FROM:           Bonnie L. Golden, Grants Manager

COPY:           Charles Franz, SPH Administrator

DATE:           August 3, 2006

SUBJECT:    Ordinance No. 2006-19-14: An Ordinance accepting and appropriating $10,000 from the State of Alaska for Purchasing Respiratory Support Equipment for Newborn Infants for South Peninsula Hospital Service Area

The South Kenai Peninsula Hospital Service Area (“Service Area”) has identified the need for respiratory support equipment for newborn infants. The Hospital currently transfers nearly all premature newborn infants to Providence Medical Center in Anchorage. With the purchase of respiratory support equipment for newborn infants, the Hospital could treat some infants locally and avoid the expense, risk, and disruption of the family.

A request for funding this equipment was included in the Borough’s 2006 State Funding Priorities as the Service Area’s number one priority. Funding for the project was included in Senate Bill 231, the State’s capital budget, which was passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor in July 2006. The State Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development has notified the Borough that $10,000 is available to the Service Area for respiratory support equipment. Passage of the attached ordinance will accept and appropriate the grant, making funds available to the Service Area for its purchase of the equipment.

Attachments: Ordinance, DCCED notification letter