The Hospital Board Should Show that They Really, Really Like Sen. Dean

Source: Citrus Hospital Board ponders more money for Citrus County college campus by Fred Hiers, Citrus County Chronicle; 1/20/22

The hospital board late last year gave the Citrus County campus $1 million to help students pay for tuition if enrolled in health care related programs. In exchange, the campus would name one of its buildings after former sheriff and state senator Charlie S. Dean Sr.

Chris Knife, CEO of the College of Central Florida Foundation, said the $3 million, in addition to the $1 million the board’s already gifted, would allow the CF Foundation Board to “request the College District Board of Trustees (to) name the CF Lecanto Campus the College of Central Florida Charles S. Dean Sr. Citrus Campus.”

Full disclosure: I'm a former member of the district board of trustees for CF, and from that time of getting to know the staff at the college, I do think this would be money well spent. That being said, I totally understand that this situation looks a little ridiculous.

It sounds like this is CF's pitch: $1 million got you this, but boy do you seem to like Sen./Sheriff Dean, so just imagine how much you could show you like him for $3 million!

So yes, the optics are terrible. But providing more professional healthcare training opportunity for people in Citrus, who will definitely be able to find good careers here should they choose to stay local given our older demographics, is absolutely worth investing in. Make it happen, Hospital Board!