Board of Trustees Heard HVAC Update and Were Notified Of Anticipated Increases During her monthly report to the Board of Trustees, Greenwood County Hospital (GWCH) CEO Sandra Dickerson announced that closing was completed on the new Eureka Clinic location and it officially belongs to Greenwood County/GWCH. The hospital is still awaiting the receipt of grant dollars awarded for the purchase through the State of Kansas. This is being mailed to Greenwood County and once received, dollars will be channeled to GWCH for deposit into the GWCH Board of Trustee’s checking account. The GWCH Foundation has also earmarked an additional $15,000 for purchase of the structure. Once the check is received, these dollars will also be deposited into the board’s account.
Needed work to transition the former CareArc dental office to exam rooms for the Eureka Clinic facility were presented with a bid. The quote received from Cheever Construction for the amount of $9,700 included installation of walls to enclose exam rooms, cabinetry removal, replacement of some ceiling tiles, painting walls and staining/installing doors. Board members approved the quote.
A Trane bill was presented for approval. At this time, Dickerson provided an over-view of progress in the HVAC project. In regards to the boiler, all materials are on sight in the lower boiler room and boilers have been placed in their final location. Electrical installation is underway. Pertaining to the chiller ice storage, Dickerson noted that chillers had been released for production, piping connections for storage completed, outdoor control valves are installed and indoor piping is approximately 70% complete. The existing chiller will be moved for continued use until installation of the new unit is completed. Electrical work for the new pumps and chillers is approximately 50% complete. The lighting project is nearly completed. The over-all project is currently ahead of schedule. The bill from Trane totaling $199,974.99 was approved for payment.
Athenanet, the current system for medical records, intends to increase fees for licensing and billing. This is anticipated to increase from 3.64% of collections to a rate of between 6-10%. GWCH is still awaiting an official quote from Cerner, an alternative to this product, and are working to speed up the receipt of this. When received, the GWCH board may hold a special meeting in efforts to expedite this transition. The increase in fees from Athenanet is anticipated to occur within the next six months. It will take approximately one year following finalization of the contract, to transition to Cerner.
Discussion was had in regards to provision of insurance coverage for the facility. Dickerson reported that she and Human Resources Director Janelle Palmer had met with the agent from Conrade Insurance Group and the building insurance is anticipated to see a significant increase. This is, in part, attributed to the number of disasters that have occurred nation-wide. The flat deductible GWCH currently has for wind and hail damage will be moving to a percentage deductible. This will be 1% of the total insured cost of the buildings. The current deductible is $50,000. Dickerson noted that with this change, the hospital would be seeing a deductible more closely aligned with $180,000 for wind and hail. This approximation was based on current figures. Dickerson shared that the hospital is underinsured in regards to the assessed per square foot cost for rebuild of the facility. This figure will transition from $475 per square foot to $550.
Dickerson reported that GWCH had received a resignation letter from their current Hospitalist. She explained that the individual would be leaving in association with an upcoming move/relocation. It was shared that May 28 would be their last day.
Staff conflict of interest statements were presented for board review. These were noted as being the same this year as they were the previous year. The following three were read, reviewed and approved: Janelle Palmer, ownership in NAPA Auto Parts; Isaac Boone, affiliation with Eureka Pharmacy and Dickerson, her husband serves as an independent courier for lab specimen. Dickerson shared at this time that members of the Hospital Board were also needing to complete conflict of interest statements.
Sara Escareno with Materials Management was present to discuss her department operations and their goals. She noted that their main function is to furnish the hospital with needed supplies and track inventory. After Escareno briefly discussed work towards cost savings for supplies in an effort to stretch the budget further, Dickerson noted that Escareno has saved GWCH thousands of dollars since assuming her role. Escareno noted work identifying products of the same quality for lower cost through different brands.
A revised budget was presented to the board. This was necessitated with the addition of the Eureka Clinic facility. With this, additional income from the radiology lab was also incorporated. Conservative projections were drafted based on April performance. Additional net patient revenue was anticipated at $861,000. Also considered in the new budget were: an increase reflecting salaries, benefits and supplies. Some depreciation of the structure was also factored in. The conservative net income would be $687,000 for the year, an increase of $367,576 from the former budget drafted for the 2024 fiscal year. Budget years for GWCH begin with the month of October. Following review, board members approved the revised budget.
CFO Melody Curnutt reviewed the March financials. As the balance sheet was reviewed, it was noted in discussion that some claims had to be held back due to the change of address for the Eureka Clinic.
In discussion of the statements of revenue and expenses, Curnutt shared that net patient revenue decreased from February, operating expenses decreased from the prior month and the net income year-to-date was $131,000. Ratios were reviewed. Curnutt reported that with the increase in cash, GWCH saw an increase in days with cash on hand and a decrease in days in accounts receivable. Financials were approved.
During the Medical staff report, it was shared that they had met on March 19. Cody Ray, Radiology Director, discussed CT policies needing updated. Those were approved as presented. Pharmacist Boone discussed a couple of medications he wanted to add to the pharmacy. Appointments and reappointments were approved and reports were given.
The following appointments were approved by board members: Todd Oberzan, Radiology Consulting; Catherine Pilson, Radiology Consulting and Scott Myers, MD, Radiology Consulting. The following reappointments were approved: Michael McClintick, DO, Active Family Practice; Kayla McCoy, APRN, Allied Health and Nicholas Brewer, MD, Radiology Consulting.
In the absence of Director of Nursing Becky Randall, Dickerson presented her report. In regards to utilization statistics, these show a decrease in observation days and swing bed. This was noted as typical for this time of year. As Wound Care patient numbers from October to March were reviewed, it was shared that numbers have seen a decrease, which was attributed to people transitioning out of their care because they have healed. Wound Care is working on marketing to make sure the public knows they are available. Patient visits for the months of October- March were as follows: October 69, November 52, December 42, January 70, February 76 and March 60; totaling 369 visits.
Approval was received for the consent agenda. This included the following items: minutes of the March 28 meeting, treasurer’s report for March, payroll and benefits in the amount of $709,068.48 and accounts payable in the amount of $726,634.69.
Board members Kevin Hough and Jan Stephens were absent from the meeting.
The next regular meeting of the GWCH Board of Trustees will be held on Thursday, May 23.
