MMH laying groundwork for mental health clinic, dentistry upgrades

    Melissa Memorial Hospital CEO Trampas Hutches briefed the East Phillips County Hospital District Board on three developing clinics — including the mental health clinic, dental clinic and Londa Wernet Bradford Cancer Center — at the board’s March 26 meeting.
    The introduction of mental health services is part of the hospital’s current strategic plan, and Hutches later said an agreement that will lease space within MMH for a mental health clinic is under legal review.
    The hospital’s dental clinic was scheduled to be fully equipped April 2 and will begin seeing patients in a few weeks.
    The clinic’s financial backers also visited the site, and Hutches said the hospital is considering offering surgical services in conjunction with a local oral surgeon.
    Another potential service line could be a denture lab capable of 3D printing dentures based on scans of patients’ mouths.
    After doing more research into chemotherapy regulations, the hospital also announced that the current fume hood in the Londa Wernet Bradford Cancer Center is not up to code and needs to be replaced before the center becomes operational.
    Hutches estimated the equipment will cost between $8,000 and $14,000. He  said that, while the project is currently on track to be finished by August, the hood could push the completion date back.
    The fume hood is the only nonregulation piece of equipment in the center. Erie-based renovator DH Designs will be handling the other upgrades planned for the room.
    Since February, designers have visited the site and engineers are in the process of completing specifications for the room.
    
Financials show revenue down, utilization up in February
    CFO Wes White presented the hospital’s February financial statement to the board, which showed a net loss of $23,922, down from January’s net income of $218,802.
    Inpatient days increased from 40 in January to 47, and there were 90 emergency department visits compared to 89 the previous month.
     Total gross patient revenues were under budget by 7 percent, deductions were under budget 1 percent, and expenses were under budget 8 percent.
    White also said that consultant Dingus, Zarecor & Associates PLLC is preparing its audit of the hospital’s 2018 financial statements and the 2018 Medicaid cost report. DZA will present its audit to the board at the end of April.
    
PFAC presides over drop in radiology wait times
    MMH’s Patient Family Advisory Council met during the week of March 18 to review the hospital’s state of the organization report and address internal concerns over wait times in the radiology department.
    Hutches summed up the council’s deliberations for the EPCHD board. Since the council’s previous meeting, specialty clinic manager Mary Kay Knode had revised the process for sending patients to the radiology department and automated the sending and printing of paperwork.
    A camera was also installed in the waiting room so department employees can be aware of queued patients if no one is present at the front.
    In addition to drops in average wait times, a 25 percent error rate for registrations has been reduced to 4 percent.
    Board president Steve Young also mentioned that PFAC members commented regarding the number of per diem nurses employed by the hospital and wondered why MMH did not hire more nurses from the community.
    Young said he presented multiple reasons to the council for why more local nurses aren’t employed full time by the hospital. Some do not want to work in nursing, despite having experience in the field, and others are uncomfortable treating patients whom they know well.
    Hutches said the drop in turnover among nurses — from 43 percent in 2015 to 4 percent in 2018 — was also mentioned. He encouraged interested local nurses to submit an application to work at MMH.

Other business
    In other business at the March 26 meeting, the board:
    — Held a 14-minute executive session for security arrangements/investigations.
    — Approved $30,866 from the 2019 capital equipment contingency budget for replacing the overhead lights in the operating room.
    — Heard an update from Hutches on the Holyoke Community Childcare Initiative, which has received 3D drawings of the proposed facility and is continuing to pursue grant funding.
    — Approved $408.36 for Steve Young’s travel costs associated with attending the Colorado Health Association Rural Health Conference.
    — Heard a quality committee report from Jennifer Cano.
    Additionally, the board accepted resignations from radiologists David Board, M.D., Betsy Bronson, M.D., Ananthakrishna Chilukuri, M.D., Judith Corey, M.D., Susan Enlow, M.D., Carrie Harvey, M.D., Charles Hoo, M.D., Archana Lucchesi, M.D., Marshall Mallory, M.D., Geoffrey Murrish, M.D., Michael G. Myers, M.D., Ravinder Sohal, M.D., Keith Spellman, M.D., and Eric Trefelner, M.D.