CCMH approves proposal for ambulance service operation

Following an executive session, the Cedar County Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees announced that they had approved a proposal to be presented to the Cedar County Ambulance District for the operation of the ambulance service. (see ambulance report)

Present in the session were all the trustees; Julia Phipps. Jan Neale, Judy Renn, Carla Griffin and John Walker, Hospital CEO Jana Witt, Recording Secretary Terri Heitz, Hospital Attorney Bryan Breckenridge, Chief Nursing Officer Drew Alexander and Chief Financial Officer Carla Gilbert.

In the preceding open session Gilbert gave the financial report for May. Total operating revenue was $1,928,863 which is under budget by $18,176. Operating expenses were $1,122,642, over budget by $11,664. After deductions from revenue, the loss off of operation was $101,996. After taxes, donations and interest, the net loss for May was $71,602. Gilbert mentioned that the hospital had some CD’s come due from Edward Jones in the amount of $848,000. She is contacting the local banks to check interest rates on CD’s and will continue to look for the best rates before reinvesting.

The board approved the accounts payable in the amount of $506,627.04.

Gilbert thanked the CCMH Auxiliary for their recent donation of $6,588 for the new floor tile/installation down the med/surg hall.

The board approved several new and revised policies.

Alexander reported that the hospital has three open RN positions and are currently using agency personnel. He said the STROKE/STEMI application is completed and ready to be sent in. He said it could be as long as three months before a site visit will be made.

He also said he had contacted the regional office for the Emergency Management out of Greene County for a copy of the Regional Emergency Preparedness Plan. He was told that SEMA doesn’t have all of their requirements in place a this time.

Witt said the County Health Department applied for a two year, $35,000 grant for the Missouri Foundation for Health. If approved by MFFH, Witt would like to use the money to help with improvements to the parking lot at the Medical Mall. The lot doesn’t have sufficient drainage, causing a potential hazard with slick surfaces during the winter months. The estimated repair costs are $90,000.

Witt thanked the CCMH Auxiliary for their donation of $12,000 to be put toward the SonoSite portable ultrasound machine. The machine can be used in the Emergency Room as well as on the med/surg floor and the outpatient clinic.

Witt and Gilbert brought the Board up to date on EHR (electronic health records) The board had voted to accept the MediTech contract with the assumption MediTech would have the hospital ready to go live by Jan 1, 2018. The hospital contacted another firm that said they could have the hospital ready to go live by 11/17. IT Department Manager Victor Schulte said that MediTech has now moved the go live date to 8/18. Following a discussion, the board chose to proceed with the original vote to accept the MediTech contract as they are the number one ranked vendor by the staff and providers.