I’ve learned a lot of lessons in the 16 months since a tornado destroyed Sumter Regional Hospital and put us all on this hard road to recovery and rebuilding. Early on, the hospital management team resolved to do all in its power to try to keep the community informed about the rebuilding process. One reason for that was that in the days and weeks after the tornado we found ourselves flooded with false reports and unfounded rumors about the hospital’s future. Some of it was so far-fetched it was laughable, but it was still a distraction, and fuel for anxiety in the community.

We figured that if we made a concerted effort to put out factual information, even if the news wasn’t good, it would help tamp down the rumors and speculation. I think that was a good decision, but I have about decided that nothing we do will curb the human impulse to gossip and speculate. Ben Franklin once wrote that three men could keep a secret, if two of them were dead. I know what he meant.

Which brings me to today’s column. In my last column, I reported that we were facing a significant financial shortfall in our rebuilding budget and that we were pursuing a number of strategies to close that gap. One of those strategies was to explore the possibility of securing outside investment in the new hospital. That investment would come from what we called a “strategic partner,” most likely another hospital or health system.

That revelation seems to have triggered yet another batch of rumors, and I know I won’t put them all to rest today; in fact I’ll probably stir up some more. But I continue to be guided by a belief that we have an obligation to do as much as we can to keep the community informed.

So here’s where we are: We have indeed made contact with a number of prospective strategic partners and entered into substantive discussions with several of those. Because of the nature and state of our discussions, I am not at liberty to identify those prospective partners, and it is simply too early to know what form any final “partnership” might take.

I will say that I have been pleasantly surprised by the interest in Sumter Regional and the Americus market, and that I am cautiously optimistic that these efforts will bear fruit. Our discussions with these prospective partners will continue over the next few weeks, and I expect we will know by the fall whether this strategy will enable us to eliminate our budget shortfall and break ground on the new hospital in early 2009.

We also continue to pursue other options, particularly the possibility of financial support from the Sumter County and Federal governments. We remain hopeful about both of those avenues. But we are facing some very real deadlines related to our FEMA funding that require us to explore all options on more or less parallel tracks — hence our dialogue with these potential partners.

I want to emphasize that we have three core priorities in this recovery effort:

First, to build a new permanent hospital that will serve the needs of Americus and the Middle Flint Region for decades to come.

Second, to re-stabilize the local medical community.

And third, to ensure that you once again have local access to the full range of medical service you had prior to the tornado.

Everything else — including the question of exactly how we make all this happen — is secondary.

Despite our challenges, I remain optimistic. For all the damage done by the 2007 tornado, I believe it presented us with an opportunity to build a state-of-the-art, 21st century hospital that will be the envy of rural communities throughout the country. That hospital will anchor a strong medical community and an improved health care delivery system, and provide a basis for new economic growth.

With your continued faith and support, we will get this done.