Hospital board ready to submit new in depth strategic plan

At the September Hot Springs County Memorial Hospital board meeting, Hospital Foundation Director Dan Powell reported that they are ready to submit their strategic plan to the foundation board for approval at their meeting on October 28.

Powell said that this new strategic plan is more in depth in their plans than they’ve had before. With their Together We’re Better campaign which involves employee participation they currently have eight percent participation and they are looking to increase that rate.

Their annual appeal brochures went out last week. They are hoping for donations to come from that.

Power also submitted a grant application to the Wyoming Breast Cancer Initiative to help fund their 3D visual mammography project. In their golf tournament that took place in August, they raised $8,544.96. They also received a check for $2,500 from the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation to help meet needs in the lab. However, since applying for that money in March the need in the lab went away so they are looking for another approved use of that money on a different item.

In the WyoGives online fundraiser in July, they collected over $12,000 in donations and ranked eighth place in raising the largest amount of money out of 130 nonprofit organizations in the state. 

Doctor Hallie Bischoff reported for the first time in person about the medical staff. She is usually on call Tuesday nights and made arrangements to attend.

Bischoff said that Doctor Miller is working on building his staff and numbers back up since COVID hit and there was a slowdown. His numbers are now beginning to come back up. Bischoff said that they hired some new people, a specialty clinic coordinator, new front desk staff and a lab tech. The new hires are getting up to speed with their training. Bischoff said, “It’s exciting” to have new employees. 

She also reported that orthopedic “Dr. Lee is leaving in December, “which is sad for us. He has a new opportunity in Colorado that’s pretty exciting for him and his family but it’s a huge loss for us. Dr. Lee is wonderful. Patients love him.”

Regarding potential replacements for Dr. Lee, Bischoff mentioned Dr. Francisco and Dr. Landon, both of Lander could potentially come to Hot Springs County to provide care. They especially love sports medicine. Bischoff said she appreciates their communication and care and thinks they could be a valid option. 

Bischoff reported that Dr. Folker, an ear-nose-throat doctor, of Cody, will come to Hot Springs County to hold a clinic starting October 2. He will be in Thermopolis the first Friday of every month in the afternoon to do clinics and procedures. Bischoff said many families especially love Dr. Folker in how he cares for his patients and their kids with allergies and ear infections. 

Prospective general surgeon Dr. Nicole Jamieson who interviewed and was looking to come to Hot Springs County has signed. She will start next August 2021. She and her husband are looking forward to coming here. They are still talking to Dr. Stephen Asay and he will do a site visit in the near future. 

Bischoff said that they are still working on getting a rapid testing machine for COVID. They should have multiple ways of testing for COVID soon. This will help patients to get tested quicker so that they can return to work sooner or be ready for surgery. 

Nina Landis said in her quality report that they are looking at a new software called Doctor First. It is a medication reconciliation program that interacts with the pharmacy so that they can see every medication the patient is taking or even ones they discontinued years ago. This makes things more accurate in record keeping. 

Hospital CEO Margie Molitor added to Dr. Bischoff’s report and said she is excited to have Dr. Nicole Jamieson on board the staff. Molitor clarified on the COVID testing saying they do have a Bio-Fire, which is a large instrument that will be put in the lab as soon as the technician from the manufacturers installs the machine and trains the staff. They have wave testing which they hope to go live in the middle of October. 

Regarding construction, Molitor said, “We all had to be flexible.” She thanked all the patients and staff for cooperating in dealing with the construction, as many things changed such as routes along the progress of building. Also, the new CT machine will arrive on October 26. The machine will be certified and have new training, and Molitor said she hopes to start using it with patients by November 12. 

John Gibbel in his services report previewed the board with a new design on the hospital website. The new website will be able to be owned by the hospital instead of the host, and they can control and update it at any time. The website is still a work in process and will be published soon. The design clearly shows the various services, clinics, specialties, providers and staff and gives much detailed information to the user including financial services and others. Gibbel said he aims to go live with the website in November. 

Gibbel also reported that they won a Wyoming Association of Broadcasters award for a first-place radio spot for a sleep study ad they produced. It was the best single commercial in a small market. Gibbel also said that they will start Lab Well in Worland, which will begin the last Tuesday of October and will be weekly on Tuesday. For marketing purposes, they will also put up a billboard in Shoshoni to advertise the hospital. 

Shelly Larson said in her financial report that they increased their cash on hand from 177 days to 181 days. They also went from $1.8 million accounts that were greater than 60 days down to $540,000. Larson also mentioned the two new staff members that work remotely that do claim submissions and follow-ups, and their help is making a huge difference. Lason said, “It’s a nice, refreshing change.” 

Larson added that she received a revision letter for the audit engagement from Koerwitz et al. accountants due to the amount of work that needs to be done. The estimate for fees done will increase from $30,000 to $40,000 with no cap. It originally was $30,000 to $35,000 and not to exceed $35,000. Also, the audit for single compliance which is specifically related to CARES Act funds, those fees increased from $15,000 to $20,000 with no cap. It originally was $10,000 not to exceed $10,000. The use of these funds will qualify as expenses to spend on the COVID-19 and CARES funds. The board made a motion and voted to pass the revision costs for the increase in fees related to the accounting of the CARES Act.