Texas County Memorial Hospital will add another full-time physician in November, hospital board members heard at last week’s monthly meeting.
Dr. Jennifer Groner has signed a contract with us to work full-time in the Mountain Grove Clinic. She is a board certified family medicine physician with fellowship training in surgical obstetrics. She currently resides in Lees Summit but she will relocate to Texas County.
“Dr. Groner will see patients of all ages, and she will provide complete OB care, too,” said Wes Murray, TCMH chief executive officer.
Groner will also participate in the on-call rotation at TCMH, providing coverage for hospital inpatients.
Murray said recruiting efforts for a full-time general surgeon are also underway. A site visit was planned with a physician candidate, who along with his wife has ties to Missouri and hope to return to the area to practice after completing his residency program in 2018.
Also, Murray reported that Marvin Colyer, a certified registered nurse anesthetist, will return to TCMH in October to work full-time in the surgery department.
“Marvin left here on very good terms several years ago to be closer to his grandchildren in Farmington,” Murray said. The Colyer’s plan to move back to Texas County for the full-time position.
RENOVATIONS
Renovations at the TCMH Medical Complex have been underway for several months as TCMH geared up for the arrival of Dr. Cory Offutt and additional mid-level provider help in the TCMH Walk In Clinic. In addition to creating additional exam rooms for patients, the renovation includes creating one common waiting and reception area for both sides of the building.
“Renovation work is going strong,” Murray said. “We are about to open the hallway connecting the two sides of the building.”
TCMH officials believe the creation of one reception area will better utilize staff and the flow of patient care in the clinic. Additional clinic rooms are next on the renovation list in the Medical Complex.
FINANCIAL UPDATE
Linda Pamperien, TCMH chief financial officer, presented the financial report for July which showing an increase in revenues and inpatient volumes. She said inpatient admissions are showing an upward trend compared to last year.
Swing bed utilization was down to only 11 admissions for the month of July. Swing bed patients are hospital inpatients that have been admitted for a skilled nursing stay at the hospital following a recent hospitalization. Swing bed patients come to TCMH to recover from illnesses and surgeries when they are not able to care for themselves at home.
July financials at the hospital showed a positive bottom line of $72,092.02 at TCMH for the month, improving the negative year-to-date balance to $305,756.17.
Present at the meeting were Murray; Todd-Willis; Pamperien; Joleen Senter Durham, public relations director; Amanda Turpin, quality management director; Dr. Jonathan Beers, chief of the TCMH medical staff; Ron Prenger, CoxHealth representative; and board members, Dr. Jim Perry, OD, Omanez Fockler and Janet Wiseman. Board members Mark Hampton and Russell Gaither were not present.