Published: March 26, 2008 10:22 am            

Union wants to buy old hospital

College’s plan for medical program could produce 300 Knox County jobs

By Sean Bailey / Staff Writer

Union College is looking to purchase the old hospital in Barbourville, the school’s president, Edward D. de Rosset announced to the Knox County Fiscal Court at the court’s March meeting Tuesday.

During the citizen’s comments portion of the meeting, de Rosset presented the court with a proposed lease purchase agreement. De Rosset said the school hopes to use the hospital for an allied health program and is asking to purchase the hospital for $150,000.

De Rosset called a possible partnership between the county and Union College a historic opportunity for the community.

According to de Rosset, students who graduate from the new allied health program could potentially enter job fields that have 100 percent placement rates. De Rosset said many federal agencies consider a student who graduates as a created job. Under these guidelines de Rosset said the program could create 300 jobs for Knox County.

De Rosset added that it is Union College’s intent to hire and use as many local contractors as possible for the project. De Rosset said the college hopes to stop people “from simply driving through Barbourville, and Knox County when it comes to their education.”

Court magistrate Doyle Gibson expressed his interest in the proposal, saying the hospital renovation would be beneficial for both the county and the school.

Gibson said he has recently received complaints about the security of the unused hospital from residents, and he wondered if the college was going to be willing to provide security while it was being renovated. De Rosset said he would bring that point to the school, but he was certain that during construction the hospital will be surrounded with a fence, and additional security lights in the area would be something to look into.

Knox County Fiscal Judge J.M. Hall told de Rosset that he and the magistrates would look over the documents presented, and the court would try to respond to Union College’s offer in two or three weeks.



Sean Bailey can be reached at sbailey@the

timestribune.com

        

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