3 incumbent hospital board members take on 4-year terms

    Angela Powell, Mike “Woody” Woodhead and Steve Young took their oaths of office last week as they were sworn in for four-year terms as directors of East Phillips County Hospital District.
    The official swearing-in formality was conducted by hospital board vice president Gary Rahe at the beginning of the May 22 board meeting.
    The May 8 hospital district election was canceled, as the three incumbent directors were the only ones to file as candidates for the three open seats on the board.
    Board officers were elected for the next two years and include Young, president; Rahe, vice president; and Powell, secretary/treasurer. Also serving on the board are Woodhead and Sheila Gift.
    
Dental program slated to be up and running Nov. 1
    Reporting from the late-April meeting in Denver to learn about grant details for the hospital’s dental care program, Melissa Memorial Hospital CEO Trampas Hutches said they hope they’ll be seeing dental patients in the local clinic Nov. 1.
    He described a couple of ways in which the program could look in terms of patients coming in to the primary care clinic for dental care.
    An update on the design and legal details with the Child Care Initiative were also reviewed at last week’s meeting.
    A final presentation from the University of Colorado students on the design for the child care center proposed on hospital land looks to be at a higher price than the local group believes is feasible.
    After a call with legal counsel and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Hutches said it’s likely they’ll recommend a relationship with the hospital district and the CCI, which will be a 501(c)3.
    A ground lease will be involved, and the 501(c)3 will be the operator and owner of the child care center. Hutches said there will be a clause indicating that if anything would happen and the center would close down, the property, including the building, would revert back to the hospital district.
    
Stats show positive variances from a year ago
    Comparative statistics from one year ago were cited by Hutches, with huge positive variances seen in a number of areas.
    Inpatient days in April of 2018 showed 49, more than triple the 14 days in April of 2017. Likewise, swing bed days more than quadrupled from 12 last April to 53 last month.
    Pharmacy scripts almost doubled from 1,129 last April to 2,123 in April of 2018. Additionally, eye clinic visits more than doubled from 63 to 152.
    An increase in stats was also seen for radiology exams, lab tests, emergency room visits, Family Practice visits, specialty clinic visits, coumadin clinic visits, emergency medical service 911 calls and EMS transfers.
    A decrease of five was seen in surgeries from 26 last April to 21 last month.
    Hutches also noted improved efficiency from a year ago. Clinic provider time to close charts dropped from 72 hours to 4 hours.
    Days to next third appointment (which measures how fast one can get an appointment) dropped from 12 days to 1.7 days. Hutches said that anything below 3 days is in the top 10 percent in the nation.
    Hutches also cited that the hospital collected an additional $485,000 in cash for the month of April.
    CFO Wes White reported that MMH is in a very good cash position. The total average days of cash operating expense on hand was reported at 213, which is up from March’s 197 days.
    Total cash collections continue to exceed the monthly level projected prior to the Athena system conversion, White added.
    Led by a high level of gross patient revenues in January and March, the unaudited year-to-date financials showed a net income of $403,922, compared to a budgeted net income of $132,302.
    White also reported that the hospital is negotiating with First Pioneer National Bank to finance the new cardiac monitoring system and is awaiting approval from HUD to finalize the lease.
    
Other business
    In other business May 22, the hospital board:
    — Reviewed a positive quality report for April, with clinic survey results showing continued improvement for appointment time satisfaction.
    — Noted the next board meeting is set for Tuesday, June 26, at 7 p.m.