The first item on the Mitchell County Hospital Health Systems Board of Trustees Meeting was a report by Stephanie Simmons, on the Mitchell County Regional Medical Foundation's activities.
Simmons reported that work was being done as of Monday morning to remove the old roof of the Perdue House and get the new one put on before the storm clouds produced rain. They had to go ahead with the roof since the contractor is on a timeline and has to have the work done in two weeks. They had concerns about the roof on the porch and how it should be constructed.
The Foundation was given a $5,000 grant by one of the Kan-Care Amara Groups. Simmons said they filled out an application and received the grant as a part of a way to give back to the community.
The Foundations' Fifth Annual Golf Tournament will be held on August 1, and they already have 23 teams signed up with the maximum number they can take because of room on the course being 24 teams. They have twelve platinum sponsors this year so far and this is the highest since 2011, Simmons said.
There are three parts to the event every year so this gives the community an opportunity to help support the Foundation. Hospital employee Darrin True works hard each year to provide items for the Online Auction. There is lots of autographed sports memorabilia in the auction including Kansas State, Kansas University, and a number of professional baseball, football and golf celebrities. This year includes: Collin Klein, Coach Bill Self, Jordy Nelson, Emmitt Smith, John Elway, Joe Montana, Dan Marino plus PGA golf items NASCAR, OU and Nebraska items and much more.
The sale of raffle tickets is the third part of the event and is also an important part of the annual charity event. There are 10 different Raffle Jars to this year with many great prizes to choose from. Tickets are on sale right now and the drawing will be held on August 1. For more information call Stephanie Simmons or Darren True.
Simmons also talked about the Solomon Valley Transportation Grant. Due to it they will be able to expand their bus routes into Osborne County. The Solomon Valley Transportation Board is working on a strategy that won't take service away from this area but still allow them to add service to Osborne County. Board members met with the Osborne County Commissioners and will be meeting with the Osborne City Council. Simmons explained how this plan will work and what they hope to accomplish with it.
Hospital Administrator, David Dick, gave a Quality Improvement Report and a Satisfaction Survey Update. The board reviewed copies of the Balance Scoreboard
and asked questions about the various parts of the report. This shows the overall rating of care on patient satisfaction surveys that were sent out to patients after their hospital stay. Areas needing improvement were discussed.
Administrator Dick also gave an Electronic Medical Record Progress Report. The hospital is currently in the stage one period for attestation on reviewing their progress on a monthly basis where they must meet all of the criteria to be able to show auditors that they have met the necessary criteria. They are progressing but it takes time to all the data in there, Dick said. He also reported on the loss of facility file servers and said a recovery plan is now in progress and they are searching through files manually in the mean time. They are working with Computer Solutions Inc. and a group called Common Need to work up a plan to have a better backup system.
The Administrator gave a Physical Therapy Recruitment Update. They now have a Physical Therapist candidate working in-house. She wants to live in Kansas so she was brought in for a one-month trial. So far this is working out well so far and would fill the final vacancy for a physical therapist.
A Concealed Carry Exemption request letter was sent to the Attorney General's office. They have changed a few signs in the building and will research the situation farther. The board discussed the ICD-10 Webinar report and their reactions to it. Chairman Curt Frasier announced there is another Webinar coming up on August 13, which will take an hour at the most. The board agreed to meet over the noon hour that day.
A Solomon Valley Hospice progress report on what is being done since they are moving into the former Port Library Building was given. They are in Phase 1 and are working on creating workstations on the main floor. Nothing has been done on the office space upstairs yet. They will see what phase 1 costs before they do any thing with that area. The furnace was rusted out and it has been moved out so he feels they are making progress. Under new business Mr. Dick reported the Fire Marshall visited on July 11, 2013. They are working to correct the deficiencies and provide a plan for corrections in that area.
Years of Service awards were as follows: Amber Krier, Physical Therapy (5 yrs.); Susan Mulanga RCC (5 yrs.); Jo Pastrovich, Occupational Therapy, (5 yrs.); Kara
Riemann, Radiology (20 yrs) and Deb Beam, Education (35 years)
CFO Eldon Koepke, reported there are a couple of pieces of equipment in the laboratory area that need to be updated. They are already budgeted for except one that is budgeted for next year but it has completely quit so will need to be replaced sooner. The Board approved the purchase of these items. Koepke gave a financial and budget report and statistics. The board went into an executive session to discuss Medical Staff Credentials and Risk Management. After which the meeting was adjourned.