Greenwood County Hospital (GWCH) CEO Sandy Dickerson provided her regular report to members of the Board of Trustees on Thursday, September 28.
Dickerson shared that an on-site survey was performed for Home Health. These reviews are conducted every three years. One deficiency was received. This was attributed to a recent policy change requiring all staff, not just service providers, to receive a KDHE/KBI background check. In regards to the receipt of zero deficiencies in emergency preparedness, Dickerson told board members that the survey provider reported that he had not seen this in 7 years.
Funding for the HVAC project was transferred to the bank.
Dickerson shared that there may be need for special board meetings if an invoice that needs an immediate payment is ever received and would otherwise stop progress in the project. All bills submitted for payment must be authorized by the board prior to submitting them to the bank.
An employee wellness program will begin January 1. Though official plans are still being drafted, this will be app based and employees will be eligible to earn monetary (gift cards) incentives for participating.
Physician’s Assistant Nik Ford submitted his resignation. Ford will serve his last day on November 20. GWCH has begun the process of searching for a candidate to fill the position. She noted that Ford, who also runs a staffing company, may cover some shifts in the future through his business.
Joy Broyles submitted a resignation for the HIM (Health Information Management - medical records) position. She took on this role at Dickerson’s request and has been performing affiliated duties in conjunction with her role as Business Office Director. When she began serving as HIM Director, Broyles was told if this became too much, she could step down from the role. Dickerson told board members that Broyles was willing to cover the position until March to afford plenty of time to find a replacement. She is only resigning from the HIM position and will continue serving as Business Office Director.
A resignation was also received from the Utilization Review Nurse. Some internal interest has been received for the position.
Board education was provided by Matt Combs who serves as infection control, HAZMAT and emergency preparedness. Combs discussed his experience, employment background and training. His duties include: infection surveillance, monitoring of community and statewide trends, staff and patient education, collecting and reporting data, keeping policies up to date, tracks employee illnesses, reviews emergency management procedures and updates those as needed and assesses emergency equipment. Combs discussed checking the cleanliness of patient rooms to ensure they are being cleaned to the appropriate level. An infection control assessment visit has been scheduled. This is a service offered through The Kansas Department of Health and Environment. A team of four will be sent to the hospital to evaluate and hold a walk-through of the facility. Findings and any recommendations will be provided following this. After noting that there are a lot of facets to his job, Combs shared that he is in favor of having such a team come in to offer any insights they may have. Promotion of employee wellness was also discussed as well as trainings including hazmat training.
The Quality Plan and Quality report were presented by Risk/Quality Director Melissa Jones. Jones shared that one thing worked on over the past year was the 30-day readmission rate, working to reduce the numbers for individuals readmitted within 30-days of their previous hospital stay. The year-todate average shared was 6.8%, a slight increase from the previous year. Jones noted that some progress had been made. She reported that in 2019, this was at 10%.
In further review of the last fiscal year’s quality plan, Jones told board members that falls with injury saw an increase in the months of January through March. As questions were posed in regards to this, it was shared that when there is a lower census this has a greater impact on numbers. It was noted that GWCH has not seen an injury fall in several months. The term Injury Fall applies to any injury, bump on head, or scratch. During this time, it was shared that between 2019 and 2022 GWCH saw a significant decline in percentages associated with fall rates. This data is reported to both the Care Collaborative and to CMS. Dickerson shared that CMS had reached out to the Care Collaborative to find out what methods GWCH applied so this can be relayed to other facilities nationwide. The following individuals were recognized as part of this team: Kiley Boyer, Combs, Kaylee Conner, Kelsey Evenson, Katy Heppler, Jessica Indermuehle, Shawna Johnson, Jones, Becky Randall and Becca Samuels.
In regards to the Quality Plan for next year, it was reported that this had not seen much change from last year’s apart from updates to goals. Members of the board approved the 2024 Quality Plan.
Review was held of the final Budget. In comparison of current numbers and proposed for the next fiscal year, it was noted that two new services were added wound care and pulmonary - and these make up some of the increase. Increases in benefits for 2024 were also a noted factor. Dickerson told board members that for the past 4 years, salaries had been holding steady and because GWCH is doing better as a hospital, they had wanted to pay staff accordingly. The option for pay increases was incorporated for reinstatement in 2024. Board members approved the final budget.
Financials were presented. Review was held of the balance sheet, revenue and expenses, cash flow, utilization statistics and ratios. Net income for 11 months was shared at just over $154,000. Financials were approved.
In the Director of Nursing report, it was shared that all out-patient services had seen an increase.
Board practices and performance assessment results were provided among agenda material. This test was geared toward identifying any areas where improvements to board and meetings could potentially be made. Members of the board were provided time to review charted responses to each question and afforded time for any commentary. During this time, it was noted that the addition of a consent agenda was a step forward and expedites movement through agenda items.
The medical staff report was given. Medical staff met September 19. There were no presenters or provider education. Review and approval of the quality plan was held. One appointment and one reappointment were approved.
GWCH Board members approved the appointment of Robert Farrell Jr., MD Radiology and reappointment of Ashraf Jmeian, MD Cardiology.
The following disbursements were approved: payroll benefits in the amount of $874,213.39 and accounts payable in the amount of $550,664.07.
Board members approved the consent agenda. This included the following items: minutes and treasurer’s report from the August and September meetings.
A 10-minute executive session for employee performance for discussion of non-elected personnel was held. In addition to board members, Jim Blackwell, Dickerson and Palmer remained. Following the session, no action was taken. Two additional 5-minute executive sessions for the same subject, with the same individuals remaining, were held. Following both sessions, no action was taken.
Dee Elliot was absent from the meeting.
The next meeting of the Greenwood County Hospital Board of Trustees will be held on Thursday, October 26.
