Hospital stays cool, thanks to emergency chiller
In the thick of summer, no one wants to hear that their building is having cooling issues, but that’s exactly what Melissa Memorial Hospital faced last month.
At the East Phillips County Hospital District Board meeting Tuesday, July 23, board members approved an expenditure of roughly $34,500 for a chiller for three months.
MMH CEO Trampas Hutches had notified board members earlier in the month, recognizing the need to act quickly when hearing there were problems with the heating, ventilation and airconditioning system. It seems as though some extra planning should have happened to expand the HVAC system at the same time the building expansion project took place.
Hutches said Schneider Electric was scheduled to make a proposal to the hospital this week, which will not only include HVAC work but also energy-saving windows, lightbulbs and more.
Mental health services top the list of community health needs
At Tuesday’s meeting, the board approved the 2019 community health needs assessment, which was administered by MMH and facilitated by Vertical Strategies.
The purpose of the document was to form a plan to develop new programs/services or to enhance established ones that address the top community health priorities identified.
Board president Steve Young said he was surprised that the demographics in the assessment didn’t reflect a very high Hispanic population in Phillips County.
Based on a review of submitted surveys — offered in both English and Spanish last fall — these four needs were identified as the most pressing:
1. Improve mental health services and decrease community sense of stigma for behavioral health services while decreasing community substance abuse.
2. Improve aging services, extended care, nursing home and end-of-life care.
3. Improve and increase medical service lines, such as cardiology, oncology, pain programs and tele-ICU services, and increase volumes and specialties for surgical services.
4. Foster cultural competency through increasing access to Latino/Hispanic populations, reduce burden and improve social determinants of health.
MMH to be honored as best place to work
MMH was the only hospital in Colorado to be named to Modern Healthcare’s list of Best Places to Work in Healthcare in 2019, and Hutches said an MMH representative will be sent to Dallas, Texas, for a conference and awards ceremony this fall.
He said MMH also has high satisfaction scores through the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey. Hospital harm numbers that include medication errors and documentation errors remain low, infections that are considered hospital acquired remain at zero for the year, 30-day readmissions remain in check and patient safety items are very good, Hutches reported.
In his strategic plan update, Hutches said this year MMH is taking a pause to focus more on operations. Patient education, like the Love and Logic workshop, has been popular, and the dental clinic is ramping up, he said.
The CEO presented a slideshow that compared the MMH provider satisfaction survey from 2018 and 2019.
High rankings were given for things like amount of time with each patient, patient load, schedule/hours, relationships/teamwork with staff and compensation.Hutches pointed out that the providers are mostly referring patients to in-house specialists, according to the survey.
The board also heard from Hutches on an asset protection monitoring report.
Board hears about financial condition of hospital district
Chief Financial Officer Wes White reported that the hospital district generated a net income of $198,193 in the month of June, which contributed to a year-to-date net income of $591,190.
Total days cash on hand was reported as 186, down from 189 days the previous month. Operating days cash on hand was 103 days, down two days from May.
Cash collections were $888,465, down from the average collections during January through May of $1,077,682.
In comparison to the previous month, June inpatient admissions were 16 compared to 13, and inpatient days were 62 compared to 34. Swing bed admissions were four compared to three, and swing bed days were 34 compared to 26. Emergency department visits rose slightly, 105 compared to 101. Drops were seen in radiology, CT, MRI and ultrasound exams with 298 compared to 484; and lab tests with 1,922 compared to 2,212.
White said year-to-date utilization levels were lower in all of the major locations of care compared to June 2018.
Communication is focus
Jenn Cano, R.N., BSN, presented a quality report to the board. She said two areas of focus will be communication about pain and communication about medication.
Cano also reported improved survey responses for the emergency department and outpatient services in the last quarter.
Other business
In other business at the July 23 meeting, the board:
— Heard an update on the Holyoke Community Childcare Initiative. The capital campaign kickoff is expected to take place in August, and the project is moving forward with the second phase of the design/build with Mike Smith Construction. In terms of the budget, Hutches noted that it looks like it will make money after the first year.
— Reviewed a governing policy that said the board’s official connection to the operational organization will be through a chief executive officer, titled administrator.
— Heard an update about Melissa Memorial Hospital Foundation. It is currently working on the 2020 Legacy Event as well as the upcoming Cajun Boil, which is set for Saturday, Sept. 14.
— Noted the EMS golf tournament will be Saturday, Aug. 17.
— Approved new appointments for Ashley Smith, M.D., telepsychiatry; Benjamin Equsquizza, M.D., telepsychiatry; David Wesis, M.D., telepsychiatry; and Murtaza Khan, M.D., teleneurology.
— Approved reappointments for Jason Edward Grennan, M.D., radiology, and Yaima Alonso-Jeckell, M.D., telepsychiatry.