PROMO Government - Medical Weisbrod Memorial Hospital Eads Colorado - Chris Sorensen

Kiowa County Hospital District Board Meeting - September 10, 2024

Weisbrod Memorial Hospital in Eads, Colorado. © KiowaCountyPress.net / Chris Sorensen

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

BOARD MEETING

September 10, 2024

The Kiowa County Hospital District Board met in regular session on September 10, 2024, at 6:35 p.m. at the Cobblestone Inn Meeting Room.

District Board members present were Mary Eikner, Pam Cole, Matt Prince, and Karl Eikenberg. Absent: Doug Uhland.

Others present: Beth Bell, Shannon Dixon, Renay Crain, Jodi Stolzenberger, Dawn Watts, Bryan Mattuski, Nick Smith with Wipfli via zoom, and Beth Spady.

CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order by Matt Prince, Chair of the Board at 6:35 p.m.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A motion was made by Pam Cole to approve the July 23, 2024 and August 8, 2024 minutes as presented. Motion seconded by Karl Eikenberg. All aye.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

A motion was made by Pam Cole to approve the agenda with the addition of Wipfli presentation under new business and mill levy resolution under old business. The motion was seconded by Mary Eikner. All aye.

PUBLIC COMMENT

There was no public comment.

NEW BUSINESS

WIPFLI PRESENTATION

Nick Smith with Wipfli visited with the Board about the financial position of KCHD after conducting an independent review of the KCHD financial statements. A recent article in the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform newsletter listed KCHD as a rural hospital at risk of closing. Upon review of the data by Wipfli, the numbers cited in the article do not tie out to the cost report submitted by KCHD. KCHD has asked for a retraction of the article.

CREDENTIALING

Dr. Veronica Sue, Dr. Jesus Sanchez Contreras, Dr. Jennifer Kemp, Dr. Kathryn Klima, and Dr. Justin Caskey were approved for telemedicine privileges. Motion to approve as presented by Mary Eikner. Seconded by Karl Eikenberg. All aye.

POLICIES & PROCEDURES

There were no policies and procedures to review.

STANDING REPORTS

MONTHLY FINANCE REPORT

The Board received a written report from the CFO.

The July financials were reviewed and showed a net loss for the month and for the year to date.

MONTHLY OPERATIONS REPORT

KCHD has several quality projects in progress and is committed to doing the right thing with a focus on patient safety. KCHD has contracted with Health Quest Innovators, a quality consultant to assist with our quality improvement projects. The kickoff with Health Quest Innovators is scheduled for next week.

KCHD is working with Flint Healthcare to assist with filling our nursing vacancies. Flint is a staffing agency that is used by several hospitals in the Eastern Plains Healthcare Consortium (EPHC). Flint works with hospitals to place international nurses with three-year contracts.

The Board was introduced to Bryan Mattuski, our new ambulance manager.

KCHD had seven managers attend the recent EPHC conference. Dawn Watts received special recognition at the conference for her efforts with the recent clinic survey and her commitment to health care in Southeast Colorado.

The Board received updates on several staffing changes involving both clinic and hospital personnel.

KCHD received four new ventilators through a grant program.

KCHD may adjust the clinic hours of operation on Saturday dependent on volume and staffing.

Lionel Wilson continues to work closely with our Chief of Staff, Dr. Lori Thorndike, and the Lab Medical Director, Dr. Cristina McLaughlin to ensure quality testing and result reporting. KCHD has been in conversation with several Medical Laboratory Technicians (MLT) candidates.

Staff will reveal the new brand to the community at the annual fair and rodeo. KCHD will transition to Weisbrod Health, Weisbrod Hospital, and Weisbrod Clinic. The mobile clinic will be available for the community to see during fair week.

The new hospital website is close to completion.

Staff continue to work on strategies related to the mill levy project. Several documents are being prepared so that they can be shared with the community during the fair and mailed out to residents.

An outstanding grievance has been reviewed by KCHD staff as well as COPIC and is now closed. The findings indicate that a settlement is not required as there was no fault.

KCHD has reached out to Prairie Pines to offer support during the transition period and to discuss opportunities for the two facilities to work together in a collaborative way.

KCHD will be visiting with the Town of Eads regarding Life Flight situations.

OLD BUSINESS

NEW CLINIC UPDATE

KCHD is in the process of finalizing the purchase for the duplex north of the clinic. The property will need to be tested for asbestos which is estimated to cost $4,500.