The Texas County Memorial Hospital Healthcare Foundation has contributed $21.1 million through loans, grants and donations to the hospital’s bottom line and infrastructure the past 10 years.
Hospital board members were updated on the organization’s success at last week’s monthly meeting following the annual golf tournament that raised more than $17,000. Wes Murray, chief executive officer at TCMH, provided a full picture of efforts by the healthcare foundation since the charitable arm of the hospital was revitalized in the fall of 2005.
“We have received almost $2.4 million in grants and $2.8 million in donations over the past 10 years,” Murray said. “When you combine that with the additional funds the hospital has received in zero or low-interest loans, it’s a very large number for a hospital of our size.”
The foundation revitalized its fundraising efforts in 2005 with Jay Gentry as the director of the organization. A volunteer board of area community members oversees it.
The group annually holds a golf tournament and chili cook off as fundraisers. The golf tournament funds benefit healthcare scholarships for area students, and the chili cook off funds aid TCMH Hospice of Care. The foundation also spearheaded “Care for Your Future,” a $3.2 million capital campaign to raise funds for a new tornado safe room and a new surgery department at TCMH.
The foundation also regularly receives funds from grateful patients and their family members and memorial donations. Endowed scholarship funds are also under the foundation’s umbrella.
“A lot of the funds we’ve raised have come through our own internal vendors,” Murray said. “The healthcare foundation also benefits from our hospital staff and the volunteers that care about the foundation’s vision and mission.”
CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
Murray also reported to board members that the final items related to the construction efforts are nearly complete. TCMH continues to work internally on the completion of the surgery department.
“We have opened the tornado safe room four times for severe weather,” Murray said, adding, “Our drills are also going well.”
Murray noted that with the addition of the tornado safe room hospital staff, patients and visitors now have a place to go during severe weather. The drills have helped staff learn what to do when the safe room is opened.
“We have learned new things during every drill, and we are grateful for this space to use during severe weather,” Murray said.
The 911 office that is located on the TCMH campus is planning to move to the old jail inside the Texas County Administrative Center on July 22.
“Much like our emergency department move, the 911 office will need to be open in both places for a time to allow for a seamless transition between both spaces,” Murray said.
BELT-KELL RETIRES
Deborah Belt-Kell, marriage and family therapist at TCMH, retired on May 28. She saw patients at the TCMH Office Annex.
Diane Beers, a licensed therapist, will move into the space vacated by Belt-Kell and begin practicing on Sept. 1. Beers, who is contracting with TCMH to utilize the space for her private practice, will move to the Ozarks from Minnesota.
“Diane is going to rent space from us and offer therapy services in the area,” Murray said. “Professional counseling is a much needed resource for us and a great service to offer locally.”
Diane Beers is the mother of Dr. Jonathan Beers, chief of the medical staff at TCMH.
Murray reported that the contracted physician staffing for the TCMH emergency department is going well. In addition to the hospital’s employed emergency department physicians, Emergency Medical Care, LLC (EMC), a staffing company from St. Louis is helping to place physicians in the TCMH emergency department.
“EMC is working to find physicians that will work in our ER on a full-time basis,” Murray said. “Staffing the ER is going very well with EMC.”
STEMI DESIGNATION
On June 12, TCMH has submitted to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services an application for designation as a Level IV STEMI (ST segment elevated myocardial infarction) facility. The STEMI designation will allow emergency medical services personnel to bring any patient with symptoms of a heart attack to TCMH where the hospital team will proceed with protocols to begin medical treatment to prevent cardiac muscle damage.
After the initial medical treatment, the patient would be transferred to a healthcare facility where interventional cardiology was available.
The state deadline for the first round of STEMI applications was June 22.
TCMH received their designation as a Level III Stroke Center from DHSS in March.
FINANCIAL UPDATE
Linda Pamperien, TCMH chief financial officer, presented the financial reports for April and May, both showing drops in revenues. April had a negative bottom line of $198,027, and May had a negative bottom line of $75,495.
TCMH is $870,614 in the red for 2015.
“It’s not as bad as it appears,” Pamperien said, noting that TCMH has $200,000 monthly in depreciation expense due to new construction at the facility.
In April and May, TCMH had $972,957 in bad debt, most of which was related to emergency department services that were provided but not paid for.
Present at the meeting were Murray; Pamperien; Dr. Jonathan Beers; Doretta Todd-Willis, chief nursing officer; Joleen Senter Durham, public relations director; and board members, Dr. Jim Perry, OD, Janet Wiseman and Mark Hampton. Board members Omanez Fockler and Russell Gaither were absent.
The next meeting of the TCMH board of trustees is noon Tuesday, July 28, in the hospital board room.