Hospital board hears plans for strategic marketing plan

At the November 26 Hot Springs Health board meeting held at the conference room, CEO Scott Alwin had several employees share their recent experiences at the Orlando Service Excellence Conference. Some of the staff received awards and also gave presentations. They also relayed how impactful the keynote speaker was in telling powerful stories.

Alwin also recognized and honored David Koerwitz for his years of service on the finance committee as a board member. The meeting was Koerwitz’s final attendance. Alwin and the board gave a basket full of goodies and a plaque testifying to his influence.

In the medical staff report, Dr. Stephen Asay briefly reported that they addressed a concern about turnaround times for imaging reports and have begun to improve their work flow. They also received education on handling Title 25 patients. These are patients who are psychiatric holds. Dr. Asay said that the training had valuable information. 

In the CEO report, Alwin said that they are transitioning to a new patient satisfaction survey vendor, the National Research Corporation. The surveys will be distributed electronically and by mail.

Also, Alwin announced that the Chamber of Commerce will have a board of education day at Big Horn Federal on January 6 at 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. This event is open to any board and if people want to participate, they need to register ahead of time. 

CFO Natalya Keller gave the financial report and said, “We ended the month of October with the total operating revenue of $2.9 million, total expenses of $3.3 million, net operating loss of almost $382,000, with an on operating revenue of about $221,000. Total loss for the month was $161,000. Net days and accounts receivables were at 46.3, which is almost on target, with our goal of 45 days, and days cash on hand was 88.8. Almost four days above the benchmark of 85 days.”

Laura Budd of the Hospital Foundation reported that they are working on a strategic marketing plan for the hospital, where they hope their public relations and internal relations are streamlined through their department. Additionally, Budd said they are implementing a new media and photo release for all employees. 

Budd also reported they are watching for more grant opportunities and they are working on the coming Giving Tuesday. The foundation is also looking for annual sponsors, especially through the Annual Giving Campaign. They are raising funds for new surgical equipment.