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

Kiowa County Hospital District meeting minutes – July 22, 2025

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

(Kiowa County Press)

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

BOARD MEETING

July 22, 2025

The Kiowa County Hospital District Board met in regular session on July 22, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. at the Cobblestone Inn Meeting Room.

District Board members present were Karl Eikenberg, Pam Cole, Jerry Weber, and Mary Eikner. Absent – Doug Uhland (called).

Others present: Beth Bell, Shannon Dixon, Jodi Stolzenberger, Renay Crain, Nikki Lenox, Mike Rowe via zoom, Raina Lucero, Zachary D’Argonne via zoom, and Beth Spady.

CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order by Pam Cole, Chair of the Board at 6:30 p.m.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A motion was made by Mary Eikner to approve the June 24, 2025, minutes as presented. Motion seconded by Karl Eikenberg. All aye.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

A motion was made by Mary Eikner to approve the agenda with the addition of Chase Fees under the presentation section. The motion was seconded by Karl Eikenberg. All aye.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Raina Lucero with the Kiowa County Fire Protection District asked the Board about the possibility of acquiring a portion of the property south of Eads to potentially build a district headquarters building. The Board will discuss this further at the next regularly scheduled meeting.

PRESENTATION

Mike Rowe with Stockman, Kast, Ryan & Company presented the 2024 audit report to the Board. The financial statements were in accordance with accounting standards and indicate Weisbrod Health is in a strong financial position. A motion was made by Karl Eikenberg to approve the 2024 audit report as presented. Motion was seconded by Jerry Weber. All aye.

Zachary D’Argonne, CEO of the Eastern Plains Healthcare Consortium (EPHC) visited with the Board about Chase Fees and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA). Zachary discussed how changes in the allocation of Chase Fees and the OBBA could impact funding for many hospitals in the upcoming years. EPHC is working to help rural hospitals grow patient volumes and increase rates of reimbursement through commercial payors.

CREDENTIALING

Jeanette Weiser, NP and Sharon Hendricks, NP were approved for active privileges. Dr. John Naheedy was approved for telemedicine privileges.

A motion was made by Mary Eikner to approve the above providers as presented. Motion was seconded by Karl Eikenberg. All aye.

POLICIES & PROCEDURES

There are no policies and procedures that are ready to be presented to the Board.

STANDING REPORTS

MONTHLY FINANCE REPORT

The Board received a written report from the CFO.

The June financials were reviewed and showed a loss for the month and a year-to-date profit. In June, the days cash on hand was 234 and days in AR was 112.

MONTHLY OPERATIONS REPORT

Weisbrod Health has signed an agreement with Common Spirit for WH providers to receive hands on training at several Common Spirit locations.

WH will be purchasing two brand new box ambulances in the upcoming weeks. One ambulance was grant funded through the State of Colorado and the other ambulance through funds from Kiowa County.

There were two bids received in response to the RFP for a new ambulance barn. After discussion, the Board has requested additional information from each contractor to include drawings and schematics to ensure the bids are comparable and in alignment with the needs of the project.

Weisbrod Health received one bid on the concrete pad project. Staff will visit with the contractor to determine if a depth of four inches will suffice. If there are significant changes to the scope of the project or the expense exceeds $10,000, this will be presented to the Board at the next meeting.

Weisbrod Health received two bids for the demolition of the Baxter House. A motion was made by Mary Eikner to award the bid to DeWitt Excavating. Motion was seconded by Karl Eikenberg. All aye.

WH has visited with the Kiowa County Fire Protection District (KCFPD) regarding the land south of Eads. Many of the grants being pursued by KCFPD require the District to have secured the land prior to grant submission. The Board will consider either selling or donating a portion of the land at the next Board meeting and will also have conversations with the Kiowa County Economic Development Foundation.

The physician candidate, Dr. Otto, will not be coming to Eads.

The management agreement with Prairie Pines Assisted Living has been signed. Weisbrod Health Staff met with the staff at Prairie Pines to discuss the organizational structure and to address any concerns. Andrea Buller continues to work on the financial statements of Prairie Pines.

Prairie Pines had a State Survey which resulted in a few minor findings. WH will work with Prairie Pines to submit the plan of correction to the State.

Staff evaluations, merit increases, and market adjustments are in progress for WH.

Weisbrod Health received a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request. WH staff worked with legal counsel to provide a response in the required timeframe. As a special district, Weisbrod Health is not required to utilize a realtor. Weisbrod Health did not pay over market value for any of the properties and purchased the properties to assist in recruitment and retention efforts. All of the transactions were presented to the Board and Board approved.

OLD BUSINESS

FACILITY UPDATE

The general contractor agreement with Reliant Construction is under review by the USDA and DOGE. Planning permits are pending with the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment. Weisbrod Health is looking to contract with an owner’s representative to provide oversight and guidance through the construction process.

The clinic building is expected to be delivered in January of 2026. The purchase cost of the building has increased by $5,800 since initial approval.

The demolition of the Sorter property will begin the end of July and is not covered by the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) funding. Once demolition begins, there will be limited access to the clinic from Luther Street.