New hospital wing to open in April

Hot Springs County Memorial Hospital has announced tentative dates for their Open House for the new construction of their facilities.  CEO Margie Molitor has proposed that the Open House will be on Thursday, April 2nd from 2:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. 

Molitor wants to give the public access to view the rooms and building before they move into it with equipment and furniture, etc.  There will be guides directing the public for tours and will explain the new features. After the Open House, the hospital will move into the new facilities tentatively on April 8.

Hospital Foundation Director Dan Powell also gave a presentation about developments on his end.  He said there was a change in their bylaws that will open up more spots on the Foundation Board. Powell also said there is a new budget in the works and he wanted the hospital to create a wishlist for purchases of new items needed.  

Powell highlighted three major new fundings for the hospital that came from the Foundation. They are a 3-D digital mammography machine, funds for the equipment for the labs and a sterile hood chamber for the pharmacy.  

Powell suggested partnering with other non-profits in various fundraisers to increase visibility to the public through activities such as golf competitions, a 5K run or hiking. Powell proposed an End of the Year Report to say thank you to those who gave to the Foundation and formally recognize them.

Dr. Miller gave a report on the Medical Staff and their progress. He discussed how the gynecological unit will soon be able to address cervical lesions. For the OB department and for C-Section births there will be a color-coded system, green being elected, yellow is urgent but not necessarily right now and red for immediate surgery for the concern of the baby and or mother.

Miller noted that the hospital will soon provide nitrous oxide in OB as an option instead of the mother having an epidural for pain relief.  He said they will determine the conditions for when it should or should not be used. Patients really like nitrous oxide as they are able to control its administration during birth.

Miller also mentioned Dr. Nicole Jameson will be visiting Thermopolis in March or April. She is a fourth year surgical resident in the Detroit area. Miller is excited to introduce her to the area and suggested to her to learn certain things that would better prepare her for care in a rural area. Jameson is a potential provider for the Hot Springs area.

In the financial report, David Koerwitz said that January was an excellent month, gross claims were the highest from August.  The cash collected was excellent. There was a profit for this month and he said they were “going forward with good numbers.”