While Art In The Park gears up for its 42nd anniversary, its benefactor, the Boulder City Hospital, enjoys its 50th year in service to Boulder City.

The community target of $15,000 in 1954 to buy the hospital from the federal government was no small amount at the time. The money was needed as an operating fund to keep the hospital open when the government wanted to "get out of the hospital business."

With expectations of more than 50,000 visitors wandering the many parks of down town Boulder City on the first weekend of October 2004, and a target income figure ranging in the area of ten times 1954, organizers are hoping the response will be the same as it was 50 years ago - "heart warming."

More than 400 presenters will be setting up their wares for the 2004 Art In The Park staged for the benefit and support of the Boulder City Hospital.

While people come to Boulder City to enjoy a weekend in the park viewing the multitudes of paintings, sculpture, and varieties of other art forms, the reason for the event is tantamount to the most important aspect of our lives - our health and life itself.

For the past 42 years Art In The Park has been instrumental in providing funds for the purchase of equipment for the Boulder City Hospital.

"The primary funds for the hospital operations come from the services we provide," says Kim Crandell, CEO and Administrator of the Boulder City Hospital. "What Art In The Park means to the hospital is $150,000 to $175,000 a year to keep our equipment up to speed.

"We are a non-profit organization, but we don't receive any other funding that we can count on. But we do count on Art In The Park.

"Art In The Park is a year-round process and it's a big project," Crandell says. "Many of our staff volunteer on their time off to work at Art In The Park."

Boulder City Hospital is privately held with a board of directors. Every dollar is pretty much put back into the facility, according to Crandell.

Crandell, who prefers to be in a non-profit setting, hails from western Nebraska. He came to Nevada and the Boulder City Hospital in 1996, by way of UNLV School of Medicine and a hospital in Bullhead City, Arizona.

"We only use the money from Art In The Park for capital improvement, we don't use it for payroll or other kinds of expenses."

The Boulder City Hospital is pretty much a full service hospital, according to Crandell, with a couple of exceptions. The hospital doesn't deliver babies or do invasive heart procedures, but they do heart studies.

A primary focus for care, as well as the equipment which is on tap for purchase and replacement, is in the area of radiology.

Every one of the rooms in radiology represents $100,000 to $200,000 and it takes more than a half million dollars just to keep the rooms current, according to Crandell.

Different technologies require varied equiped and different expense levels to keep the hospital properly equipped. At some point in time equipment must be upgraded, repaired, and replaced.

"CAT Scan technolgy is changing so we would have to change every 5 years," says Crandell. Whereas nuclear medicine is not changing, the software may change, but the camera and the technique is not changing too much."

With the rising costs of hospital services and equipment, one might wonder if a continuing increase in funding will come from Art In The Park in order to meet projections of hospital needs. But even though the event is an important part of that budgeting plan Crandell looks beyond the popular annual event.

"We have a capital budgeting process that looks three years in advance," Crandell says. "We're not able to purchase everything every year, but we prioritize what's most important."

Like many non-profits, the hospital's future financial planning includes a number of avenues, including an ongoing golf tournament and more importantly, a giving plan for people and organizations to make donations.

"We also have a relationship with Nevada Rule Hospital Partners, which is a coalition of about 12 hospitals in the State of Nevada," continues Crandell.

"We're separately owned, but have a common interest. Through that group we do quite a bit of grant funding. We also have maintenance and repair pools which is another way to spread the risk."

From a businessman's point of view, the primary source of funding and the most logical way to make money and stay in business is to get more customers. Crandell has been noticing and taking advantage of that aspect of the medical care business.

"The demographics are changing. As Henderson grows closer to us we are seeing larger numbers of people coming from that direction," he says. "Our service market goes all the way down to the Arizona border. We have people coming from Searchlight, Laughlin, and what we call South Henderson."

Crandell has the answer to a healthy Boulder City community. Provide good service and they will come. Visit Art In The Park at www.artinthepark.org.