The Greenwood Leflore Hospital Board of Commissioners approved a month-to-month proposal for landscaping services Tuesday.
The board took the action at its monthly meeting.
Dodie McElmurray, the hospital’s chief operating officer, said two Greenwood-based companies, Mighty Green Landscaping and Lawn Care and MMB Lawn Service, submitted bids.
Mighty Green had an annual cost of $46,800 to do all the hospital’s clinics and the main hospital grounds. MMB came in at $57,670 annually.
The work requires working flower beds as well as mowing and other landscaping services, McElmurray said.
“We do have a little concern as to whether one can or can’t do it. We’re not committing to any contract. If the service isn’t where it needs to be, we can address that,” she said.
In the past, the hospital has relied on an employee of Aramark, a nationwide vendor of hospital supplies and services based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
McElmurray said the hospital would try Mighty Green, and “if we don’t get the service, we’re not signing on with them.”
The board delayed action on a proposed five-year contract with Aramark for hospital services, which would include plant operations and the laundry operation. Under the proposal, McElmurray said, the hospital would have savings of $18,755 per year.
In addition, Aramark is proposing replacing the hospital’s 15-year-old laundry equipment with new equipment valued at $250,000, she said. At the end of the five-year contract, the hospital would own the equipment outright, giving it about 10 years of service before replacements would be needed, McElmurray said.
Board member Larry Griggs raised some concerns about how Aramark is maintaining the hospital under its current contract.
He specifically referred to recent cellphone camera footage of spider webs being visible in air vents around the hospital.
“Is there someone that is responsible for pointing things out?” he asked.
Hospital Administrator Jim Jackson said the staff, including himself, make it a point to do “roundings” on a regular basis in an effort to spot problems.
Griggs said that time constraints might prevent more thorough inspections. After a while, “it becomes routine and people don’t see it,” he said.
Later, the board went into a three-hour closed session to discuss planning and business services — including hospital relocation and expansion — and medical staff matters, including credentialing and quality assurance, said Board Chair Brian Waldrop.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
