Members of the Texas County Memorial Hospital board of trustees met March 28 and heard several reports, including construction has begun on the surgery center.
April Crites, TCMH quality and risk management director, presented the recent patient satisfaction scores. She commended the hospital’s housekeeping department for continually excelling with hospital cleanliness which consistently receives high patient satisfaction scores.
“Our housekeeping department outperforms all the other hospitals in our region,” Crites said. “They had another 2 percent increase regionally from last month’s report.”
Crites said the reporting also reflected great doctor communication scores with medical surgical patients and outstanding scores for labor and delivery patients.
Holland provided an update on the new surgery center project that has been years in the making.
“We received a notice to proceed, and the surgery center project started on March 20 with a targeted completion date of October,” Holland said. “This project represents a significant step in our mission to provide top-notch medical care while we attract talented physicians to our hospital.”
According to Holland, several individuals and funding sources came together to make the surgery center a reality, and the hospital is looking forward to the positive impact it will have on the lives of our patients and community.
Holland shared that the hospital was awarded an emergency medical services (EMS) grant. “This EMS grant will provide funds for Toughbook laptops, a portable ventilator and lift belts for the hospital’s ambulances,” Holland said. “The addition of these tools will enhance our patient’s quality of care.”
According to Holland, TCMH received a new pulmonary function test (PFT) machine which was purchased with Covid funds two years ago and just arrived at the hospital. The new machine provides the cardiopulmonary department with more options for lung diagnostic testing.
“This machine will be a great tool for physicians and practitioners for diagnosis of restrictive and obstructive lung conditions,” Holland said. “It offers state of the art science, precise calculations, and detailed reporting with non-invasive tests that show how well the lungs are working.”
Holland shared about the new swing bed program enhancements on the medical surgical floor including increased rehabilitation therapy with inpatients and a new swing bed graduate program. “The increased rehabilitation therapy allows our patients to get involved with activities that will get them up and exercising. It has already proven to be great for our patient’s recovery and their 24-hour day doesn’t seem so burdensome.” he said.
“We are also very excited about the hospital’s new swing bed graduate program that has been launched recently,” Holland said. “Our patients seem to really enjoy receiving a graduation shirt and their photo taken, along with recognition for completing the program and the ability to go home with improved recovery.”
Linda Pamperien, TCMH chief financial officer, presented the financial report for February.
“Our outpatient revenue was down $1,062,569 for the month from our budgeted expectations. Most of the decrease was driven from emergency room visits being lower for February,” Pamperien reported. “This also affected our ancillary departments such as radiology and laboratory.”
Expenses at the hospital were also down due to lower volumes, but the hospital ended February with a negative bottom line of $389,474 and a year-to-date loss of $646,886.
Forvis, the hospital’s auditing firm from Springfield, was on site last week to complete the field portion of the annual audit, which will be presented at the April board of trustees meeting.
Holland presented a certificate of appreciation to Jay Loveland, retiring board of trustees member, for his dedication and commitment while serving on the board for the past six years.
“I am super proud of the leadership team and believe we have good leaders in place to carry the hospital forward,” Loveland said. “It has been my pleasure to serve this hospital, staff and community.”
Present at the meeting were Holland; Wulff; Crites; Pamperien; Courtney Owens, chief nursing officer; Tricia Benoist, MD, chief of staff; board members, Jay Loveland; Joleen Durham; Jim Perry, OD; Steve Pierce; and via teleconference Allen Branstetter.
The next meeting of the TCMH board of trustees is noon Tuesday, April 25, in the hospital board room.