New hospital official in post

McCook, Neb. -- Community Hospital directors heard strategic updates on Decatur Health Systems and the hospital's Balanced Scorecard, as well as approving policies during their regular May meeting.

Jim Ulrich, Community Hospital President and CEO told the board that Kris Mathews will begin his job as Chief Operating Officer of Decatur Health Systems at Oberlin, Kansas around Memorial Day.

As part of the hospital management agreement with DHS, Community Hospital recruited and hired a chief operating officer to manage the daily affairs at the Oberlin hospital. The COO will report to the DHS board as well as to Ulrich, and is employed by Community Hospital.

Ulrich also gave highlights from his recent trip to Washington, DC to attend the American Hospital Association annual conference.

Steve Shaner, Strategic Planning Director, presented the most recent results of the hospital's Balanced Scorecard. This quarter's overall score was 5.62, based on a scale of 10 and was up from the previous two quarters. Eight measures stayed the same, eight measures were up and one measure was down.

Projects for the "People Seed" include continued training for Department Directors on the use of Just Culture and continued promotion of Employee Wellness.

The "Service Seed" reported the addition of new medical staff including a new outreach endocrinology clinic with Vinay Singh, M.D. this month and adding a temporary "Locums" physician, Bakhti Sinor, M.D. in medical oncology between the departure of Maria De Villa, M.D. and the arrival of two new full-time oncologists at Callahan Cancer Center in North Platte and at Community Hospital in July. An athletic trainer, Ethen Scott, has been hired and will be starting June 6. He will be working through Community Hospital's Surgery and Orthopedic Clinic, to provide athletic training services to McCook High School and McCook Community College athletes at varying athletic practices and contests. Finally, Jennifer McWilliams, M.D., a child and adolescent psychiatrist with Children's Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha, will be available to see patients at Community Hospital's Medical Specialists Center via telehealth services.

The "Quality Seed" score card for the third quarter looked well with three of the four sections: Safety, Infections & Complications; Process Effectiveness; and Efficiency and Cost reaching the stretch goals (above goals) and one area, Patient Experience (HCAHPS), meeting goal. Current action plans include: Discharge Process, Nursing Peer Review, and the RN to BSN program.

"Finance Seed" action plans include moving from Activities Based Costing to Activities Based Management, the 340B Retail Program, Clinically Integrated Networks and updating the hospital's Master Facility Plan.

Consent Agenda

Minutes were approved from the April 20 regular meeting of the board of directors. Minutes were also approved from the April 12 medical staff regular meeting and the May 4 Budget and Finance regular meeting.

Action to be Taken

Directors approved appointments and reappointments for Consulting Medical Staff Privileges, and reappointments for Allied Health Staff Privileges. They also approved policy revisions for the Financial Assistance Policy and the Outside Employment and Activities Policy.

Review of Activities

In the Community Hospital Health Foundation's quarterly report, Terri Shipshock, Executive Director, told the board four donors became Patron Heritage Society members in response to reaching a cumulative giving level of $10,000. Also, six Heritage Society members moved up to a higher level of recognition within the Heritage Society designation. The panels on the Heritage Society wall were updated to reflect the new and changed donors.

The John Mullen Pro-Am, June 3-5 at the Heritage Hills Golf Course, has 25 teams and 25 pros registered at this time.

The April 2 Concert for Healthcare featuring Confederate Railroad was a success with sponsorships covering the cost of the performance allowing 100 percent of ticket sales to be directed to the foundation for healthcare needs.

A foundation board retreat workshop was held May 24 following the full board meeting. Scott Larson of Paul J. Strawhecker, Inc. facilitated the afternoon session which focused on strategic planning and identified board member strengths.