Latta talks PPP at Marsh Foundation, FHC

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

U.S. Representative Bob Latta was in Van Wert on Friday to see how local non-profits were able to use federal Payroll Protection Program (PPP) money to replace revenues lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Latta first sat down with CEO Jennifer Smith and CFO Laura Scott at Family Health Care of Northwest Ohio to talk about PPP and its benefits to the medical and dental non-profit.

The PPP program, which is a portion of the CARES Act adopted by Congress to provide financial help during the pandemic, has allowed small businesses and non-profits with fewer than 500 employees to continue to pay employees and cover other costs for up to 24 weeks. The funds could be used for payroll expenses, as well as interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP loans can then be fully forgiven if used for the above purposes.

Smith noted that Family Health Care struggled at first with coronavirus health protocols, especially on the dental side of the agency.

“Obviously, our business changed dramatically,” Smith said, noting that dental appointments had to be reduced and some dental staff even furloughed at one time.

However, PPP funds, which helped pay salaries for FHC’s 35 staff members, allowed the agency to keep functioning without reducing the services it provides to community members. In fact, having the money allowed Family Health Care to purchase a machine that will allow the agency to reduce the current five-day COVID-19 testing time.

“The PPP money kept us afloat,” Smith noted, while adding she would like to see a second round of funding from the federal government.

Latta said he didn’t see that happening until at least after the November general election — and possibly not even then — because of the politicization of the pandemic.

At the Marsh Foundation, Latta met with Executive Secretary Jeff Grothouse, Executive Director Kim Mullins, Marsh School Principal Robbie Breese, and Trustee Gary Clay to talk about the impact of PPP on the agency.

Grothouse said the PPP money was critical to Marsh’s day-to-day operations because it kept the foundation from having to dip into its investment portfolio to keep its operations afloat.

“It kept everybody working, you know, it kept the staff and the work they had to do on the front lines with working with kids — we had to stay open — so these people stayed on the front lines, and kept us open, and kept everybody safe,” Grothouse noted. “It was critical.”

Clay agreed, noting that dipping into its investment principal to operate would have had a compounding effect on the March, especially if the foundation would have had to sell investments in a down market, which would have meant selling them at a loss and not realizing their full value, in addition to losing the revenues from the investments.

Mullins, who noted that the Marsh Foundation currently provides programs for approximately 100 youths, including approximately 30 on campus and the other youngsters involved in local foster care and treatment programs, said the PPP funding was a big help in keeping all that functioning normally.

Grothouse also had a personal PPP story to relate, noting that he owns a Skyline Chili franchise in Fort Wayne, Indiana, that would have likely had to close without PPP money.

“If I hadn’t had that PPP loan, I couldn’t have stayed open,” he said.

Latta noted that approximately 6,000 businesses in his Fifth Congressional District took advantage of the PPP loans, with 122,000 jobs maintained because of the program.

“When you look back at all the things that government doesn’t do right, that Congress doesn’t do right, this one actually worked,” the congressman noted.

In addition to talking about PPP, Latta also was one of the few members of the public to have the chance to view Marsh’s new cafeteria-gymnasium addition, which was recently completed. An official unveiling has yet to be scheduled.

The new complex provides dining facilities and a gym for residents and staff, while also including an elevator to provide handicap access to the upper stories of the main building, which includes classrooms, an auditorium, and administrative offices.