Employee satisfaction, May revenue set records

    Surveys went out, and the results are in. Most people working at Melissa Memorial Hospital are glad to be there.
    CEO Trampas Hutches informed the East Phillips County Hospital District Board at the Tuesday, June 27, meeting of several areas of significant improvement, based on the annual Press Ganey Employee Satisfaction/Engagement Survey.
    With 83 percent of employees participating in the survey, the overall satisfaction score for 2017 reached 87.7 percent.
    “That’s five points above best in class,” said Hutches.
    Last year’s score was 82.8 percent — just above the 82.5 percent national “best in class” rating. In 2015, the score was just 67.8 percent.
    Another answer Hutches found particularly significant showed that less than 20 percent of employees had considered resigning in the six months prior to taking the survey. Compare this to 2015’s survey results, when nearly 60 percent had considered resigning in the past six months.
    “It shows that employees like coming to work here,” said Hutches.
    Other major areas of high satisfaction included pay and insurance, which had the biggest satisfaction score increases since last year. Pay satisfaction increased 19 points to 80 percent from 2016 to 2017, and insurance satisfaction increased 22 points to 85 percent.
    There are, of course, areas for improvement still, particularly in the areas of education and culture as services and systems continue to upgrade and expand.
    “We’re becoming more sophisticated as an organization, and we need to do what we can to help everyone to be successful,” said Hutches.
    
May a record month at MMH
    Hutches and CFO Wes White were also pleased to report record patient revenue for the month of May, with MMH netting an income of $140,289 — over four times the budgeted $33,145.
    The “days cash on hand,” which reflects how many days the organization could continue to operate without any additional income, is up as well, now at 119 days — an impressive feat considering the Medicaid issue still has not been resolved, noted White.
    Back in February, Colorado began running its Medicaid claims through a new contractor, and hospitals across the state have been experiencing problems ever since. MMH currently lacks about $675,000 in unpaid Medicaid claims.  
    “Last year was a record year for revenue, and we’re on track to shatter that,” said Hutches later.

System changes pick up steam
    The new Athena electronic health record system to be rolled out Sept. 19 came up again and again in discussion through the June 27 meeting as the hospital continues to gather data and build workflows for the switch.
    Online training has begun, and representatives will be out in August for face-to-face training and test patients.
    Once the program is live, the community can expect consolidated bills, scheduling and results available online and preventative care reminders, among other developments.
    Omnicell, the hospital’s new pharmaceutical dispensary system, is another program in the process of launching. Hutches informed the board that the system of payment will now be a $207,341 lump cash sum from reserves rather than four equal payments plus interest.
    Finally, MMH’s relationship with Monument Medical, the company that was assisting with clinic billing, has been officially terminated. All billing will be handled inhouse through the existing staff beginning in August.
    
Employee paychecks to come every other week in 2018
    In light of all the other system changes happening, one system change is being deliberately delayed — the switch to a Kronos time and attendance system.
    While the year will be finished using the current system, which calculates employees’ pay twice per month, Hutches noted that it will be important to educate employees that they will begin receiving their paychecks every two weeks in 2018.
    This means they will receive 26 paychecks in a year rather than 24, meaning the average paycheck will be for a bit less than before. Still, the system will have the advantage of predictability — every other Friday — and also allow for better productivity analysis with a standard 14-day pay period.
    
Bylaw changes approved
    Also at the June 27 meeting, the board approved several slight updates and changes to board bylaws, many simply to reflect current practice. These changes and additions included:
    —The word “shall” was changed to “may” in two places, so the bylaws now state that vacancy appointees may serve until the next regular biennial election, and the Phillips County Board of Commissioners may fill a vacancy (should circumstances bring the commissioners into play).
    —Directors will now be compensated $100 per regular meeting and $50 per special meeting. This is an increase from $25 per any meeting, an amount that had not changed since before chairman Steve Young’s involvement on the board, which began in 1993.
    —All meetings of three or more directors to discuss any hospital business, regardless of voting, is subject to Colorado Open Records Act. This statement was true regardless of its inclusion in the bylaws, but was added as a reiteration.
    —Upon the request of a director, a record shall be made in the minutes to show how each director voted. Also, the president has a vote in all votes. These statements were also already followed by the board, but it was desired for the practices to be clearly stated.
    —The statement, “If a copy of the minutes is requested by an outside party, they will be subject to cost per company’s copy policy,” was added.
    —A reference to Colorado Statute 32-1-905 regarding board vacancies was added in the section pertaining to elected officer removal.
    —Minutes, certificates and documents shall be kept in a security public drive, backed up to additional media. Previously, the method of storage was not specified.
    —Executive session minutes shall be kept for a minimum of 90 days or based on board determination. This statement is reflective of current practice.
    —It is now specifically stated that the CEO is responsible for the structure of the medical staff.
    
MMHF report
    In the MMH Foundation report at the June 27 meeting, administrative assistant Diana Baeza reported that $5,000 from Colorado Trust Funds received through the 2016 Rural Philanthropy Days  will be used to implement health education for the Hispanic community.
    In addition, John Chapdelaine of the Eastern Colorado Community Fund will attend the next MMHF meeting for clarification on the use of the Grow Our Own Physicians fund.
    
Other business
    In other business at the June 27 meeting, the board:
    —Approved two new appointments, including Christian Burrell, M.D. to teleneurology and Farhad Keliddari, M.D. to radiology; four reappointments, including Carrie Harvey, M.D. and Scott Hayden, M.D. to radiology, Sidney Adler, M.D. to OB/GYN and James Wolach, M.D. to urology; seven provisional end/regular appointments, including Arnold Cullum, D.D.S. to dentistry, Hillary Wisdom, Au.D. to audiology, Michael Star, M.D. to teleneurology and Jeanie Thompson, M.D., Nasreen Mallik, M.D., Tomrul Tuzel, M.D. and Willian Regan, M.D. to telepsychiatry; and two resignations, including Babu Chalum, M.D. and Randy Taylor, M.D.—E.N.T.
    —Held a 40-minute executive session for personnel matters.