The Salem Memorial Hospital Board of Directors met Tuesday, June 24 for its regular meeting, with a brief discussion on the concluding affiliation with Phelps Health. The next meeting will be held Tuesday, July 29. In attendance included CEO Brooke Bollman, board members Dr. Leigh Ann Price, Mike Swyers, Karen Brown, Zach Moser, and Frank Barnitz.
A brief discussion was held by board members regarding the release of Tuesday’s board agenda provided to the public designating it as a special board meeting, when it was, instead, a regular board meeting. An apology was issued to the public on the miscommunication.
Salem Memorial Hospital and Phelps Health have concluded affiliation talks, with Bollman sharing that staff are comfortable where the hospital is currently and that, moving forward, the board will find other options for sustainability.
“We have concluded our discussions for affiliation with Phelps Health, so we’ll be turning a corner and be exploring other options,” shared Bollman. “We had a town hall with staff, and the feedback was overall very positive. I think everyone’s much more comfortable then they were a year ago whenever we found ourselves in that position.”
Under new business, the board discussed updates to policies and procedures as recommended by staff, along with the purchase of TruBridge Medical Encoder Software, priced at $10,515 annually.
The encoder software is standard for any hospital or healthcare organization, shared Bollman, and will more than pay for itself, helping staff audit claims by flagging for any modifiers or additional codes that need to be added. The cost for the software will include an implementation fee, including training, and an annual fee. After brief discussion, the board approved the purchase of the TruCode encoding software.
Also approved was the update of the policy and procedure manuals, reviewed internally by leadership teams with minimal updates.
CEO Report
In Bollman’s report:
• The CMS Recertification survey proved efficiencies which staff are working toward and have submitted a plan of correction.
• FY2026 Operation & Capital Budget – staff are focused on end-of-year turnover and preparing the operational capital budget.
• Staff are working on FY2025 year-end activities, such as inventory and performance evaluations
• Bollman has been working on revenue cycle improvements
• Price transparency updates – there have been several audits on price transparency in the area recently following a release of new guidelines in January. Bollman has been working toward those guidelines.
• Bollman and staff have also been working on recruiting and retention, including physician and provider recruiting, and the marketing plan and strategic planning
Summary of operations
In May 2025, Bollman reported very little changes within operations, but highlighted a few that stood out:
• Inpatient admissions were up eight admissions, from 41 in April to 49 in May. Inpatient days were up, as well, to 166 compared to 123.
• Outpatient registrations remained consistent from 1,107 in April to 1,101 in May.
• The emergency department had eight additional ER visits, from 610 to 618. Ambulance runs also remained fairly consistent with 203 in May from 216 in April.
Income statement
There was a positive rebound from the month of April, reported Bollman.
May ended with approximately $5.3 million in gross patient revenue. There was a slight decrease in acute inpatient revenue, from $386,922.35 to $364,931.48, with Bollman explaining this was due to delayed coding charges. Emergency revenue was up from approximately $1.2 million to $1.7 million. Outpatient revenue was down slightly, consistent with statistics, along with clinic revenue and ambulance revenue. Net patient revenue was reported at approximately $2.7 million. Other operating revenues, including 340B and a little over $100,000 in a received insurance claim, came in at $255,468.61, compared to $74,467.80 in April. The total operating revenue was reported at $2.9 million.
Under operating expenses, total salaries and fringes were slightly higher compared to April, coming in at $1,165,323 compared to $1,040,667, with Bollman explaining that there was an additional pay period in May, along with added staff.
Other notable changes included purchased services, from $35,503 to $53,475, due to an extra invoice in April; and general administration and miscellaneous expenses, from $8,733 to $10,320, due to foundation expenses for the golf tournament, along with funds for TORCH dollars used for capacity building grants. Income from operations was reported at $761,410, and the total profit for the month was reported at $773,699. FY2025 YTD was reported at approximately $5.3 million.
After a short discussion, the board approved the financials.
340B for the month of May featured a net profit of $75,851. The 340B total revenue was reported at $129,083.
Cash on hand YTD was reported at 26 days.
Chief Nursing report
Three openings were reported, including an RN float, full-time position; LTC nursing position; and Emergency Services Director position. RN float and Emergency Services Director positions are being actively interviewed for.
Amber Hogan reported that she’s been attending a lot of webinars, including for Stroudwater’s 5th Annual CAH Conference, with a focus on operations and leadership. She also participated in MHA’s OB readiness for critical access emergency departments. New conditions of participation may affect the ER, even without OB services.
Kendra Mobray, Director of Quality and Risk, along with Hogan and Jennifer Hagler, Medical Surgical Director, went to Practicing Excellence in St. Louis, a professional development for hospital leadership which introduced them to plenty of good ideas and areas of potential improvement.
Hogan further shared an idea of a Nurses’ Honor Guard, which may potentially start a chapter in the area soon. She’s also been attending many Culture of Caring workgroups, which she expressed has been exciting to see frontline staff participating and seeking change. All LPNs are now ACLS certified, which may improve quality on the floor.
Human Resources report
In May, three full time employees were hired, including a nurse aide, registered nurse, and an IT system administrator. Four PRN employees were also hired, including ED physician, LPN, nurse aide, and registered nurse. Alternatively, three full time employees departed, including LPN, CNA, and an accounts receivable clerk, while one PRN employee also departed, including a surgical technician.
Quality/risk report
Kendra Mobray reported that the Culture of Caring project is ongoing with workgroups meeting. She provided updates from each workgroup, including developing a new method of employee recognition. Mobray also reported staff are working on ways to promote and market open positions.
Staff have reviewed dress code and will be meeting soon to finalize revisions.
Mobray further reported that Practicing Excellence in St. Louis was informative.
Patient surveys increased in May to 117, up from April, featuring plenty of positive reviews.
Risk management received a total amount of 28 reports for May, with the vast majority being documentation errors.
