The Salem Memorial Hospital Board of Directors met July 30 for the monthly meeting.
Present were Karen Brown, Zach Moser, Mike Swyers, Frank Barnitz, Wanda Tatom, and Dr. Leigh Ann Price. Kayla Chamberlain, Chief Financial Officer, was also in attendance, along with – for the first time – new Chief Executive Officer Brooke Bollman.
After brief introductions from members of the audience, Bollman was welcomed to the board by Price. Bollman provided her first administrator’s report. The report was brief and to the point, highlighting that after arriving in Salem, she was able to meet with several members of the staff during a recent leadership meeting where she laid out expectations and goals.
Bollman is working on a strategic plan, starting with a 30-day plan she will be presenting soon to the board and staff. This will be followed by a 60- 90-day strategic plan, then a six-month plan. At that point, Bollman is hoping to put together a full five-year strategic plan. Bollman also plans to focus on priority initiatives.
Within her first 10 days, Bollman has met with plenty of staff.
“I was very impressed with staff, when I went around and took the opportunity to meet with them,” said Bollman. “There is a lot of tenure at Salem, which I was not expecting. But I think that speaks volumes to the commitment and resilience of the staff here.”
Bollman stated further that she’s hoping the board can channel the expertise of the staff and empower them to have a little more independence and responsibility. She was impressed with the responses she received at the leadership meeting, observing that everyone was receptive to goals being set.
Bollman is implementing a spending freeze. Anything that is not directly involved with patient care has been halted, to help administrators get a better grasp on financials.
Also highlighted within the report:
• The clinic is receiving a new vaccine fridge in order to administer vaccines the hospital hasn’t been collecting on. The hope is to generate more revenue and provide more services to the community.
• In the dietary department, there is currently one freezer down. There is currently a wait on parts to fix the freezer. Administration may have to go through a different vendor for parts.
• RT was able to receive three free ventilators to aid patients prior to transfers.
• An IT workgroup has been set-up to promote interoperability, which is being pushed by federal government, shared Bollman.
• SMH recently hosted a regional healthcare coalition meeting.
• CPR classes have been provided to staff and community organizations.
• The hospital has an interim long-term care director working. The hospital will be advertising for a permanent placement soon. A dietary manager has been hired and is to start the day after the meeting, July 31.
Financials
Statistics were down for in-patient, out-patient, and ER visits. The monthly budgeted amount for inpatient admissions for the month of June were 97—the total was 51. The budget for out-patient registrations was 1,495—the total was 1,158. ER visits were budgeted at 676—the total was 523. Ambulance runs were also down with a total of 173 compared to the budgeted amount of 225.
Chamberlain reported that the overall net revenue was lower than what was budgeted at $1.7 million compared to the budgeted $2.4 million but higher compared to the prior year at $1.6 million.
“Overall for the month, we spent more money than we brought in,” reported Chamberlain.
Days cash-on-hand total was 27 for June.
Chief Nursing Officer report
Current openings were reported, including med-surg, LTC, long-term care director, CNO, and various PRN positions. Not many applications are being turned in, it was reported. Many LPN classes are graduating in August, so there is hope that some will apply.
Hogan is planning a meeting with all nursing staff to lay out expectations and goals.
Price asked as to why there haven’t been many applications for the positions, to which Hogan speculated it could be pay, as Salem is lower than many other area hospitals. Iron County, for example, is paying new RNs $31 an hour, compared to Salem’s starting pay of $26 an hour.
Hogan also reported that one of the newer ambulances is in need of repairs—its transmission went out in the middle of Rolla.
Human resources report
In June, there were six new hires—including two full-time positions of housekeeper and medical assistant. Four PRN positions were hired, including an LPN, NA, surgical tech, and RN.
Seven staff left employment, including five full-time positions—CNO, cook, RN, CAN, and registration clerk, while two PRNs were lost, including the Interim CEO and receptionist.
Reasons for leaving were reviewed by the board but varied greatly.
Old business
• Bollman stated that the strategic plan will likely be presented after the first of the year, in order to give the new administration time to acclimate to the area.
• Moser informed that the question of the tax levy increase could drop off the agenda for now, stating that he posed a question to Facebook in order to gauge public interest for supporting the hospital. He stated he felt there was community support for the idea.
“From my experience, it (the tax levy) seems to be very low,” observed Bollman. “Relatively speaking, for the size and demographics of this area.”
• In business, there was a review of committee minutes from QA / Risk management by the board. Bollman stated that, in the future, she would like the board to do training on reading and digesting reports. On that note, she discussed putting the reports together in a more palatable way for the board to review.
• The board unanimously approved new privileges for Natasha Nazari, MD; Henry Onyeaka, MD; and Brian Quigley, MD.
Shortly after the meeting began, the board unanimously voted to approve the following minutes:
• June 18, a regular meeting
• June 21, a meeting regarding securing an employment contract
• June 23, a meeting regarding securing an employment contract
• June 25, a meeting regarding a budget approval
• June 28, a meeting regarding securing an employment contract
• July 10, a meeting regarding securing an employment contract
Also approved unanimously by the board:
• Moving date and time of hospital board meetings to the fourth Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m.
• Public tax meeting was set for 6:45 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 27, before the next board meeting.
• Conflict of Interest Resolution
• Committee minutes from May and June
