24-hour helicopter service to be stationed at MMH
With a go-live date of May 1, AirLife by HealthOne will be stationed at Melissa Memorial Hospital in Holyoke to provide 24/7 helicopter service for air transport.
Explaining that the helicopter will be stationed on the pad east of MMH, CEO Trampas Hutches shared the good news at the March 27 meeting of East Phillips County Hospital District board.
He noted that this stationing service is at no cost to Melissa Memorial Hospital.Charges would only be incurred if the flight service is used for MMH patients.
The flight crew will be staying on-site, as HealthOne will be leasing the middle four apartments in the resident building located next to the helicopter pad.
AirLife can be dispatched out of Holyoke for any call for service.
Hutches pointed out that hospitals in Holyoke, Wray and Julesburg, as well as the Nebraska communities of Imperial, Grant and Benkelman, are on the outside range of helicopter service to flight patients needing emergency care elsewhere.
As a result, once a helicopter arrives for transport, refueling is often necessary before the patient can be transported.
The 24/7 service stationed in Holyoke will provide more immediate access to transport patients in northeast Colorado and southwest Nebraska.
Hutches said the on-site flight crew will also be willing to help in the emergency room at MMH, if asked.
Communication emphasized in administrator report
In his report last week, Hutches mentioned several areas involving communication with staff. He cited an on-board process being followed for new providers and intentional rounding conversations with all employees.
Currently welcoming Dr. Rebecca Moore to the staff, Hutches said she started her on-board process last week. It’s designed to help the new providers have a comfort level with the facility, technology and community before actually seeing patients. Providing this up-front information will hopefully lead to provider satisfaction and retention, said Hutches.
Moore will begin seeing patients soon. In May, she will take on the Coumadin clinic, operating it out of the Family Practice Clinic instead of specialty clinics.
The on-board acclimation time will be evaluated and used for Derek Doorn, FNP, who will start April 23, and for Dr. Daniella Boyer, who will be starting in July.
With further focus on the culture at MMH, Hutches reported he has started intentional rounding, where employees come to his office for one-on-one conversations. He indicated he should be able to do this with every employee twice a year.
The over-reaching theme for the intentional rounding is interdepartmental communication. Hutches also noted that morning huddles are held at 8:50 a.m., and about 25 employees attend each morning.
Acknowledging survey input from patients, Hutches said they’re looking at several options for providing extended office hours for seeing patients, as well as for pharmacy services.
After evaluating potential staffing for extended days or Saturday hours, as well as financial impact, Hutches said he hopes to have something to report about the direction to take at the April 24 board meeting.
Changing to a regional accountable entity for Medicaid was also elaborated by Hutches. This involves reimbursement for chronic care management.
The goal is to keep Medicaid patients out of the hospital and out of the emergency room by focused management on their care.
In his final report topic, Hutches said they’re looking into working with Centennial Mental Health for a half-time social worker/behavioral health worker to integrate mental health into primary care services.
Municipal lease approved for cardiac monitoring system
A new direction was needed for the $188,000 unbudgeted expense for a cardiac monitoring system that was approved at the February board meeting.
A lease option with Mindray Capital was approved last month, pending approval from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, at last week’s meeting, CFO Wes White reported that a new route was needed after Mindray Capital was unwilling to change the terms of their lease agreement to conform to lease terms required by the TABOR amendment and a successor clause required by HUD.
White secured quotes for a municipal lease from First Pioneer National Bank. If the interest on the lease is taxable to the bank, the interest rate for MMH will be 5.7 percent. If it’s not taxable to the bank, the rate will be 4.5 percent.
Because of the need to expedite the purchase of the equipment, the board voted to work with First Pioneer on the lease.
However, board member Woody Woodhead emphasized the need to give the opportunity for all banks in the community to offer quotes for consideration. White indicated the policies with regard to soliciting bids can certainly be reviewed.
In the monthly financial report, White stated that cash collections on the Athena system are improving. He added that inpatient and outpatient utilization were both above budget during February.
At the end of February, the average Gross Revenue Days Outstanding in accounts receivable was 82 days, down 13 from the previous month, and three days below the 85-day goal.
White also reported that March looks to be an extraordinary month for cash collections.
6 values adopted
By board consensus at last week’s meeting, six values were approved for MMH, complementing the recently adopted mission statement, “The Melissa Memorial Hospital family delivers compassionate care nurturing trust with those we serve.”
The six values, covering integrity, service, ownership, passion, collaboration and courage, are for all MMH family members, as follows:
—All MMH family members will exhibit integrity at all times.
—All will demonstrate exceptional service by placing the patient/customer first.
—All will do the right thing, because we expect it of ourselves.
—All will be devoted to our craft and have a strong desire to succeed.
—All will collaborate as a team to deliver compassionate and quality care.
—All will reach beyond our boundardies and do the things that we are afraid to do.
Other business
In other business March 27, the hospital board:
—Approved a new infection control and prevention plan, as described by Jennifer Cano, infection control and quality specialist. The plan provides a better way to monitor infection for patients and employees.
—Accepted three new appointments, including David Board, M.D., in radiology, Derek Wright, M.D., in family medicine and Jason Rytlewski, M.D., in cardiology; and two reappointments, including Jeanie Thompson, M.D., in telepsychiatry and Kathy Meyer, FNP, in family medicine.
—Heard an MMH Foundation report that they’re working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a matching grant for an ambulance. Also, it was reported the foundation received a nice memorial from the Velma Wettstein family.
—Held a 16-minute executive session at the close of the meeting for personnel discussion.