Voters in Miami-Dade County approved a referendum that will fund $830 million in upgrades for public safety-net Jackson Health System, according to a Miami Herald report.
The referendum will raise property taxes in the county. Its passage follows a four-month campaign, largely driven by Jackson President and CEO Carlos Migoya and Citizens for Healthy Miami-Dade, a political action committee. Jackson's longtime academic partner, University of Miami, also endorsed the campaign.
"Proud as I am of the way we ran this campaign, everyone here knows we will truly be judged by the way we manage this project," Mr. Migoya told the Miami Herald.
About $477 million of the bonds, all of which will be issued in staggered amounts each year through 2023, will be put toward construction projects, including the new rehabilitation hospital on Jackson's main campus and about a dozen urgent-care centers throughout the county.
About $350 million is slated for new equipment, from hospital beds and patient-room furniture to CT scanners, cardiology X-ray systems and oncology radiation devices. Another $130 million is earmarked for computers and software to integrate electronic health records, clinical information and physician decision making tools across Jackson's network.
The total cost to repay the $830 million in bonds, which have a life of about 30 to 40 years, is projected at about $1.4 billion, according to the report. Miami-Dade taxpayers already contribute about $350 million a year, through a half-penny sales tax and property taxes, to help fund Jackson's operations.
This past May, Jackson reached financial solvency for the first time in five years.
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