By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- Massena Memorial Hospital’s privatization process recently made significant strides, according to a report the CEO gave to the Board of Managers on Monday.

He said the Certificate of Need is ready to be filed with the state, a draft transfer agreement has been passed to the town attorney and a state grant means the hospital will be debt-free in the coming months.

In addition to that, MMH CEO Robert Wolleben said the hospital may name an affiliate by the fall.

According to the CEO, the Department of Health has approved a $5.8 million grant to take care of most of their $6.2 million long-term debt.

“(MMH CFO) Pat (Facteau) and his staff have been working on that pretty well. The debt may be expunged before the end of the summer,” he said.

Wolleben said the DOH would not have approved the grant if they weren’t working toward an affiliation, which he has said is not possible as a municipal hospital.

“We had to present a credible plan to be affiliated with some other entity,” he said, adding that they didn’t need to pick one. “Sometime in the fall we would select someone to be affiliated with.”

Last week, the Town Council discussed a bill put forth in the Assembly by Assemblywoman Addie Russell to allow MMH to privatize as a municipal hospital. Town lawmakers took no action to support or refute the proposal. It was not discussed at Monday’s meeting.

Before MMH can form the new private entity, they need the DOH to sign a Certificate of Need.

“The Certificate of Need is completed and ready to be submitted,” Wolleben told the board. “It will probably go in Tuesday or Wednesday.”

He said that document, with state approval, allows MMH to form the new private, non-profit corporation.

A major point of the process is deciding how the town, which now owns MMH, will be compensated for the asset.

Wolleben said hospital officials have sent the first draft of a transfer agreement to town attorney Eric Gustafson, and that process will now be a major focus.

“This is where a lot of energy is going to be put for five or six months,” Wolleben said. “I would emphasize this is a first draft.”

Town Councilman Steve O’Shaughnessy was in attendance and said local lawmakers hadn’t yet heard anything about the draft plan.

“The town attorney has a draft in his hands,” Wolleben said.

He also said they have yet to come up with a name for the new corporation. He suggested delegating it to the hospital board's Planning Committee.