St. Luke's declines to take position on Hyperion
By Dave Dreeszen Journal business editor | Posted: Friday, May 02, 2008
SIOUX CITY -- St. Luke's Regional Medical Center's board discussed the proposed Hyperion Energy Center Wednesday night but declined to take up a resolution in support of the $10 billion project in Union County.
"St. Luke's supports regional economic development projects like Hyperion and others that improve the quality of life for Siouxland," the Sioux City hospital said in a statement issued Thursday morning. "St. Luke's board did not take a formal position on the Hyperion project at its meeting on April 30, nor have we been asked to do so by any group or entity."
Reached by phone Wednesday night, St. Luke's chief executive officer Peter Thoreen declined to comment on the board discussions. A day earlier, Thoreen had told the Journal he anticipated the board would support a resolution like the one passed last month by Mercy Medical Center's board.
"This whole organization favors it, including the board, because we've talked about it," he said in an interview Tuesday. "We'll probably go on record (Wednesday) with a more formal resolution."
The Mercy-passed resolution calls for giving Dallas, Texas-based Hyperion Resources "every opportunity to demonstrate its ability to build and operate an environmentally safe energy center." In the document, signed by Mercy CEO Paul Dougherty, Mercy also "pledges its full assistance as a source of medical information and consultation to Hyperion ... and the citizens of Union County."
Dougherty emphasized that the board's support should not be viewed as a blanket endorsement of Hyperion's project.
The Siouxland Surgery Center, a speciality hospital in Dakota Dunes that Mercy partially owns, also passed a resolution supportive of the proposed oil refinery and power plant, which would create an average of 4,500 construction jobs over four years and 1,800 permanent jobs upon completion.
"St. Luke's supports regional economic development projects like Hyperion and others that improve the quality of life for Siouxland," the Sioux City hospital said in a statement issued Thursday morning. "St. Luke's board did not take a formal position on the Hyperion project at its meeting on April 30, nor have we been asked to do so by any group or entity."
Reached by phone Wednesday night, St. Luke's chief executive officer Peter Thoreen declined to comment on the board discussions. A day earlier, Thoreen had told the Journal he anticipated the board would support a resolution like the one passed last month by Mercy Medical Center's board.
"This whole organization favors it, including the board, because we've talked about it," he said in an interview Tuesday. "We'll probably go on record (Wednesday) with a more formal resolution."
The Mercy-passed resolution calls for giving Dallas, Texas-based Hyperion Resources "every opportunity to demonstrate its ability to build and operate an environmentally safe energy center." In the document, signed by Mercy CEO Paul Dougherty, Mercy also "pledges its full assistance as a source of medical information and consultation to Hyperion ... and the citizens of Union County."
Dougherty emphasized that the board's support should not be viewed as a blanket endorsement of Hyperion's project.
The Siouxland Surgery Center, a speciality hospital in Dakota Dunes that Mercy partially owns, also passed a resolution supportive of the proposed oil refinery and power plant, which would create an average of 4,500 construction jobs over four years and 1,800 permanent jobs upon completion.
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union wrote on May 2, 2008 11:26 AM: