Grant Funds And Community Donations Cover Majority Of Building Cost With plans to expand the physical therapy space to the old recovery room, Greenwood County Hospital (GWCH) CEO Sandra Dickerson shared a quote with the board of trustees during their monthly meeting on Thursday, March 28. With the expansion into the old recovery room, the physical therapy department could add two additional treatment beds. The bid, submitted by McElroy, totaled $27,779. This proposal included demo to open the wall, removal of medical gas outlets, reworking the gas piping, obtaining med gas certification (when complete), moving circuits, demoing the existing double doors on both the materials management side and the inpatient side, putting in sheetrock on the materials side and putting in a new door that will lock on the inpatient side, all finish work to floor and walls including paint, totaled $27,779. Dickerson noted that $11,000 of the bid was for electrical work, which will be completed through a local contractor. It was relayed that the local contractor stated the cost would be much lower. It was also shared that all of the work would be completed during normal business hours. Although no board funds are sought for this project, the project required board approval to move forward. The board approved the project.
Through external donations, the GWCH Foundation collected $105,200 toward the purchase of the Eureka Clinic building.
The Eureka Community Foundation also applied for a match-day grant through the Patterson Family Foundation. The event raised $82,500 and, if approved, the grant would match up to $70,000. Dickerson also shared that she is waiting to hear back from KDHE on another grant the hospital applied for. She has spoken with a KDHE representative who shared that approval should be made by May 1. Dickerson noted that if the grants were approved, the hospital would have $457,700 to go towards the purchase of the building, leaving $142,300 left for GWCH to cover on the $600,000 purchase price. “I’m pretty impressed with the community,” stated Dickerson. She further stated that the external donations were through the efforts of Isaac Boone, not her.
Dickerson shared that the Eureka Clinic was fully moved into the building across the street and that Wound Care, Infusion services and outpatient registration had moved into their new space. Hospital staff is working on signage to minimize confusion for patients as they work through the transition. With pulmonary rehab also moving into a new space, Dickerson noted that Melanie Farner, RN would be joining Kim Nolan in that department, through Meridan (a vendor GWCH utilizes to offer the service).
Facilities Director Randy Harris submitted his intention to retire and his last day will be May 31. After interviews were held, Russell Hewitt was hired for the position, beginning June 1.
While discussing financials, CFO Melody Curnutt noted that February was a good month that noted an increase of cash by $81,000. For February, the hospital showed a 3.79% increase in net income. Director of Nursing Becky Randall provided her report, including utilization statistics which showed an increase in inpatient and swingbed days; as well as an increase in outpatient services. The average daily census for February (inpatient, swingbed and observation) was 5.8 days.
Leslie Lacy with Great Plains Health Alliance (GPHA) provided board education on the subject of corporate compliance.
The board approved the appointments of Gulam Ashfaq Husain Khan, MD, Radiology Consulting and Manal Schoellerman, MD, Radiology Consulting, as recommended by the medical staff.
A five-minute executive session was held with Melissa Jones with Risk/Quality Report. No action was taken.
CEO Dickerson also provided updates on other projects at GWCH. Regarding the boiler project, she shared the chillers are expected to be released from production soon and should be at the facility in mid-June. The lighting project is ahead of schedule with them being at 90% of the project as of last Thursday. The bill for the work totaled $199,974.99.
The GWCH Board of Trustees meets monthly on the fourth Thursday of the month. Their next scheduled meeting is Thursday, April 25, at 5:30 p.m.
