Hospital board OKs contract to start chemo room renovations

    Melissa Memorial Hospital has a timetable and renovator on deck for the Londa Wernet Bradford Cancer Center, which they plan to have finished Aug. 1.
    The East Phillips County Hospital District Board approved a $29,800 contract with Erie-based DH Designs for renovations, including architectural, engineering, structural engineering and interior design services last Tuesday, Feb. 26.
    CEO Trampas Hutches said that the entire process of getting the chemotherapy mixing room up and running, including construction, will cost $150,000 on the high side.
    Hutches added that similar renovations in Ogallala, Nebraska, and Sterling cost close to $1 million.
    “It’s pretty reasonable — for health care, it’s reasonable,” he said.
    Renovations will include applying a special nonstick coating to the walls, redoing the flooring and ceiling, and managing airflow in and out of the room.
    Hutches said the engineering and architectural designs will be completed in eight to nine weeks, after which bidding for construction will begin. DH Designs will oversee the bidding process, and Hutches promised to update the board as it proceeds.
    “This is a highly regulated construction project, even though it’s small,” he said.
    While the room could legally be used to mix chemotherapy drugs as it is, the renovations anticipate upcoming changes to state law.
    In his administrator update, Hutches said the concrete has been poured for an addition to the hospital’s dental clinic, anticipating the arrival of dentist Sylvia Noteware, DMD, this week.
    He also praised the work of physical therapist Theresa Lopez-Scott, who began with the hospital Jan. 14. Since then, her patient volume has doubled, and the hospital is considering hiring more help to handle the resulting preauthorizations.
    Hutches will be presenting at the state Capitol on MMH’s efforts to curb opioid abuse, March 6-8, as part of the Annual CHA Rural Health Conference.
    
Hospital sees dip in January
    CFO Wes White presented the financial report for the month of January. In January, MMH saw a net income of $218,802, down $224,027 from December. January utilization levels also dipped below December levels. Inpatient days were 40 in January, compared to 49 in December, and emergency department visits fell from 105 to 89.
    White also reported that the hospital had 98 days cash on hand, calculated from average operating expenses for the past year, which was two days fewer than the number required by hospital policy.
    He later said the hospital is still working to build up its cash on hand after its 2016 expansion project but that MMH hopes to have 120 days cash on hand by the year’s end.
    On the bright side, in response to a question by board member Sheila Gift about the pharmacy’s income relative to projections, Hutches said MMH Hometown Pharmacy has “blown it out of the water.”
    The hospital will start training employees on its new Adaptive Insights budgeting software in May and deploy the software in June. They also were scheduled to roll out their new badging system Tuesday, March 5.
    
MMH employees contribute more than $2 million to local economy
    According to analysis by the National Center for Rural Health Works, the $8.1 million in wages paid annually to MMH employees translates to $2.05 million in local economic impact and retail sales.
    The figure was cited in a policy report by Hutches on MMH’s relationship with the community.
    Besides the hospital’s financial impact on Holyoke, including nearly $28,000 in direct community support and sponsorships, MMH also provided 800 hours of volunteer service, donated more than 1,400 food bank items and performed 460 discounted blood draws, among other services, in the past year.
    Hutches also mentioned events like the Feb. 22-24 Northeastern Colorado Emergency Trauma Conference, organized by MMH and Holyoke EMS, as assets that were more difficult to quantify but also benefited the community.
    
Other business
    In other business at the Feb. 26 meeting, the board:
    — Heard an update from Hutches on the Holyoke Community Childcare Initiative, which has put together a list of potential donors, and is seeking $6 million to $7 million in grants, as well as $250,000-$300,000 in local funding. After its most recent redesign, the proposed facility will cover 12,000 square feet.
    — Appointed members Gary Rahe and Mike “Woody” Woodhead to a board for reviewing MMH bylaws, as well as Angela Powell and Gift to a board for reviewing medical staff bylaws.
    The board also accepted 11 new appointments, including Tanya Riddle, M.D., in dermatology; Jeffrey Alpert, M.D., in family medicine; David Hensley, M.D., Jonathan Jaksha, M.D., Christopher Koch, M.D., Steven McCormack, M.D., Matthew Mendick, M.D., Mohammed Quarishi, M.D., and Duane Serra, M.D., in radiology; and Ali Samee, M.D., and Andrea St. Clair, D.O., in telepsychiatry.
    Provisional ends/regular appointments were granted to Rebecca Moore, M.D., in internal medicine/hospitalist and Deniz Eker, M.D., Grace Jackson, M.D., and Stefani Parrisbalogun, M.D., in telepsychiatry.
    Reappointments were granted to Val Meredith, CRNA, in anesthesiology; John Drury, M.D., in cardiology; and John Wright, M.D., in radiology.

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