Fairfield Hospital Board directors approved an amendment to its master lease agreement with East Texas Medical Center under which ETMC will spend $2-4 million over the next two years on capital improvements.

The lease amendment comes on the heels of FHD picking up the tab for a like amount of unpaid claims of indigent patients.

By FHD assuming unpaid hospital claims, ETMC funds are freed up to make improvements to the facility owned by the district.

The district is generating funds to absorb indigent patient costs through the Upper Payment Limits program administered through Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the U.S. Department of Human Services.

The UPL program allows the district to receive matching funds to pay costs of providing health care services to indigent patients.

UPL provides a match of $1.50 for each dollar spent by the district.

A second UPL plan approved by FHD directors last week will use $38,000 in tobacco grant money to buy a unit specific, cardiac monitoring system for the cardio pulmonary department estimated to cost $35,000, and fund cardiac or pulmonary rehabilitation care for patients with financial needs.

The tobacco grant money comes from proceeds from a lawsuit by the state against tobacco manufacturers. Investment income from a fund established with the proceeds is divided among health care facilities each year.

In other action, the board gave approval for Fairfield Emergency Medical Services to install an emergency generator at its new facility on hospital grounds.