By the Greater Winfield, Medical Building Board
Since there have been many questions floating around town and on social media, we’ve put together a short history of the Greater Winfield Medical Building.
The building is not owned by the village or the town. It is owned by a non-profit (501c3) corporation created in 1963, The Greater Winfield Medical Building Inc.
It was built using funds collected from local residents and businesses. It is run by a board of volunteers. There is no pay for its members.
Being a non-profit, there is no income generated short of the monthly rent from Bassett Health Care. This rent money is used to maintain the building.
It’s also been used throughout the years for donations that are made to all the local fire departments to help support them and the critical services they provide. Like those of us on the board, they’re volunteers trying to keep a vital service functioning in our communities.
We also give yearly scholarships to Mount Markham graduates going into medical related college studies.
As far as the condition of the building goes, it is fine considering its age. The present issues arose when a pipe in the plumbing system eroded and started seeping.
This type of failure is not covered by insurance. The planned renovations will take care of this issue and prevent it from happening again.
As owners of the building, the Board is required to take care of all repairs to the building, not the renter, Bassett Healthcare.
Since it is not owned by either the town or village, the building has never cost the town or village residents a cent in taxes or any other fees.
The only time after the initial construction that community members have been asked for voluntary donations was when the board held two other fund drives. One was to build the addition that added over 1,100 square feet to the building in 1992.
The second was for purchasing an X-ray machine in 1995. Other than these fund drives for major improvements, it has been self-sustaining, providing a place for local residents to receive quality medical care without traveling out of the area.
In order to keep providing this service, we are now forced to go to the area residents and businesses for donations to make these repairs. Again, this is the first time in almost 30 years that we have been forced to…
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