Hospital uses tax credits to purchase equipment

Girard (Kan.) Medical Center has come up with a novel way to help fund a new $297,000 imaging system: Anyone who donates money to the facility earmarked for the new Picture Archival Communication system can expect a 70 percent tax credit. The hospital's foundation has been working to raise the funds since September 2009 when the Kansas Department of Commerce approved $209,100 in community service tax credits for the hospital, the Morning Sun reports.

A $1,000 gift to the foundation would net the donor a $700 state tax credit, under the initial agreement.

That's the theory. In practice, donors will receive 90 percent of the full credit for the 2010 tax year, due to a budget balancing initiative, Melanie Cumoletti, executive director of the foundation, recently told the Sun. So a $1,000 donation would net a donor $630.

Instead of paying taxes to the state, donors would give them to the foundation. The tax credits can directly cut a Kansas taxpayer's tax liability.

In August, the foundation had raised $185,000. One of the most generous donors was the Goppert Foundation, which donated $50,000 toward the new equipment, accoring to the Sun. The new PACs will allow staff to take current radiology films and turn them into digital pictures that can be stored in computers and quickly accessed.

Last year, CEO Kenny Boyd told the Sun the new system would slash costs significantly and cut diagnostic times, because physicians and off-site specialists will be able to access the images almost instantly rather than waiting for snail mail delivery.

The foundation has until Dec. 31, 2010, to raise the money needed to buy the equipment, the Morning Sun reports.

 To learn more:
- read these articles from the Morning Sun: article 1, article 2 and article 3
- here's more information on how the tax credit works

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