Beaver Island Michigan

My wife and I attended Tuesdayâ??s [August 19] BIRHC board meeting. Apparently our dentist Dr. White is having difficulties with negotiations for the costs associated with running her dental practice in the new medical center. A major point of contention is whether the BIRHC or Dr. White should assume financial responsibility for installation of a separate electrical meter which would register the cost of power supplied to the dental office. Dr. White should not have to pay for this installation. However, the meter should be put in place at this time as it was pointed out at the meeting that electrical costs would be difficult to determine and that installation at a later date would be very expensive. The installation should be part of the building cost and should not be the responsibility of Dr. White or any other future dentist. Several other issues are mentioned in the August 14, 2003 letter from Don Spencer, Chairman of the New Facility Construction Committee, which are causing our dentist second thoughts about providing dental care on Beaver Island. We cannot afford to lose the excellent dental care that Dr. White provides.
--Kenneth Jay Taylor, 8-20-03

Hey Ken! Look what you wrote over a decade ago

There is a lot of historical record on the forum. Even saw one from Steve West asking what the Beacon was. And Patrick Mcginnity asking if anyone had any work on the Island cause he wanted to move here year round.

Lots of posts from friends long gone now. Lots of historical records.

Mr. Taylor, It is obvious that the HC is in violation of their agreement with the taxpayers of the township. I would think the question to the township board at the meeting is what action is the township board going to take with the HC in the interest of the taxpayer's dental health. My recommendation would be to withhold tax dollars to the HC until the contractual dental care issue is resolved. Reasonable people would do that with any other contractor who didn't deliver services promised. NO SERVICE, NO PAY.

DC

To publically respond to a private message posed to me:

No, I'm not living on BI or a taxpayer. We visit for a week or two in July each year. We hope to buy and retire there for a portion of the year in the very near future. I firmly believe that now is the time to show an interest in local issues and voice concerns in hopes they are addressed and resolved before moving there. Like many in my age group, health care is a primary concern and consideration for a retirement location. It appears health care to include emergency services on BI needs serious review and improvements. For that I would hold the townships responsible.

DC

Hi Darby,

EMS on the island is in good shape with Brian, Cody and
Rhonda as well as others. Our new (old) ambulance and new EMS car have us in good shape for now. The fire department has acquired some ATVs and is getting a new F350 for wildfires. Our funding is good and our air transport is working well. 108 runs this year and 44 air transports. I'm feeling really good about EMS under Brian and fire under Tim.

Brad

Dr. Grassmick, Your reply is encouraging for the improvements to emergency services and I'm sure due to the efforts of many including you along with Mr. Moore for which I express my appreciation. My concerns stemmed from articles in the past expressing financial and EMS staffing issues.
I continue to have grave concerns about the operation of the HC at large to include providing dental services. I assume others already living there share those same concerns. If the HC were a private practice this would be a different matter but in using township millages there needs to be some accountability to the public. That accountability appears to be absent. I would assume that accountability is the responsibility of the townships representing the taxpaying public.
I would appreciate knowing how you and other taxpayers view my assumptions with the focus being on how to bring the HC in line with improvements accomplished with emergency services.

DC

Hi Darby,

If you'd like to chat I can go into more detail, give me a call at 241-448-2314. I'm heading to Marquette on Sunday for a week.
Brad

It is very unfortunate that we don't have a dentist ,I do not know both sides ,but us islanders are the ones paying because know we have NO DENTIST,it's not our fault , we can't find any dentists that will take our insurance ,so we signed up for a credit card for your teeth, all I hear there is a dentist coming, but when no one knows,I'm not trying to trash anyone ,just wish things could have been handled differently

I would love to retire to the island permanently....but lack of a doctor and dentist has been causing me to rethink my plans. I am now afraid to go ahead with plans to buy additional land and rental properties on the island if I don't retire there. I am sure that I am not the only person that has taken this into consideration. I can only imagine how much "off island money" has NOT been brought TO the island, or how much "island money" is leaving for the mainland due to concerns like mine.

A $100 for transportation every time i need a dental cleaning or other dental work......A $100 in transportation costs for a doctor's appointment, in addition to the actual cost of a medical visit, in order to get an ACCURATE diagnosis and treatment?

I don't think transportation costs will even be tax deductible if the new tax legislation is passed.....not to mention property taxes...state taxes or local taxes. But that is a whole other ball game.

Glad to hear the BIES is doing so well. Now if the BIRHC will step up and do their duty to the citizens of BI and get a dentist things would be looking up. Seems like they should give the St. James Township some news on Wednesday.