Hospital board amends capital budget for 2019

Tuesday night, the Hot Springs County Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees amended the hospital’s capital budget for 2019.

Chief Financial Officer Shelly Larson said $400,000 was originally budgeted, and she requested $350,000 in capital money budgeted for a nuclear medicine machine in 2020 be moved to 2019, for a total $750,000 in capital expenditures for 2019.

Hospital CEO Margie Molitor noted there would be a mobile nuclear medicine unit that would come in on a month-by-month basis while the new machine is getting up and running. The mobile unit will be set up right outside the ambulatory wing.

Also in regard to finances, Larson reported there was no decline in the days in accounts receivable, which were at 59.47 for January. Looking specifically at the hospital, she noted, there was a decline from 54 to 52, and it was also one of the highest collection records.

Red Rock Family Practice is still lagging behind, Larson said, as there were some staff changes a couple months ago and she’s finally getting resources to help get that back on track so the days in accounts receivable come down.

Days cash in hand saw a drop, Larson noted, showing a shift from the operating, which is the actual days cash on hand, to the restricted, which is the fund generated from the one-cent special purpose tax.

Chief of Staff Dr. Vernon Miller reported there has been some discussion about blood transfusion and transport, and ensuring paperwork is correct so blood sent with patients can be used. Miller further reported on blood shortages, and explained the hospital gets its blood and blood products from Billings but the supply there has been down a bit. The hospital needs to be mindful of the blood it receives to ensure it meets criteria and there’s enough on-hand.

Miller also spoke to the hospital’s use of nuclear medicine. Though not used for as many procedures as it once was, Miller approved of still having it here. If the program were to be scrapped, he noted, and restarted from scratch the hospital would again have to jump through several hoops from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Regarding staffing at the hospital, Miller commented there are a couple travelling staff that have been doing a good job and couple possibly be moving here. There has also been some discussion, he said, about pre-anesthesia testing, determining what procedures and types anesthesias are high or low risk, and trying to match those so the hospital is consistent in what people are tested for.

In his service report, John Gibbel said there have been improvements in communication with RN’s and doctors. Also, there will be a revamp to the patience experience team to bring in some new “internal champions” to help with different initiatives.

CEO Molitor expressed her appreciation to board members Melissa Johnson, Bill Williams and Dave Koerwitz from coming to before the Hot Springs County Commissioners, Thermopolis Town Council, Kirby Town Council and East Thermopolis Town Council to help gather support for the hospital’s $1.5 million SLIB grant application. $850 million of the grant would go to a new roof for the hospital and asbestos abatement, and the remainder will go to moving the hospital kitchen from the basement to the ground floor. Molitor did receive word the application was received.

The hospital is also in the process of leasing a server for $3,000 per year to support the Telestroke program, Molitor said, so neurologists working remotely with the hospital can see CT scans.