Hospital directors updated on second quarter results

McCook, Neb. -- The Community Hospital Board of Directors was updated at the February 18 meeting on the second quarter balanced scorecard results as well as other director education and reports.

Board Education

Under board education, the directors reviewed the board member job description and the Elements of Governance Board Roles and Responsibilities. Several healthcare magazine news articles were also included in their packets as well as information on two upcoming conferences.

Strategic

Update/Discussion

Steve Shaner, Strategic Planning Manager and Community Hospital seed champions reported on the second quarter 2015 balanced scorecard results. Sixteen measures are averaged for a total score of seven this quarter, as compared with a score of 7.31 the previous quarter. Of the 16 measures, three measures were up, eight measures stayed the same and five measures were down in the second quarter.

Under the People Seed, a team has been formed to consider ways to re-introduce the current hospital values and standards to Community Hospital employees. Team members have also been chosen to work on a formal action plan to streamline and structure the interview process at the hospital. Meetings will be held with all Vice Presidents and their respective department director reports on succession planning and business continuity. Under the hospital's wellness program, Wellness for Life, 206 employees completed all or part of the requirements to receive discounts on their health insurance premiums.

Employees participated at a 96% participation rate for the PRC employee engagement survey. Based on the survey results, Community Hospital will receive four, 5-Star awards for "Overall As a Place to Work," Total Compensation Package," "Training and Development" and "Administrative Council." The hospital will also receive three, 4-Star awards for "Empowerment," "Patient Care," and "Communication."

Under the Service Seed, the board learned how the hospital is addressing any gaps in service, as well as addressing customer loyalty. The public has been invited to consider joining a Patient Advisory Council, which would give Community Hospital valuable input on the patient and family experience.

The Quality Seed reported that the "Overall Level of Safety" measure on the balanced scorecard was the highest reported since the second quarter of fiscal year 2013. This patient perception score is derived from the patient telephone survey question of, "Overall, would you rate the level of safety you felt while in the hospital as excellent, very good, good, or poor?" The performance results were 70.81% rating the hospital as excellent, exceeding the goal by 5.71% and exceeding the stretch goal by 1.59%

Core Measure performance is a way the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) measure the quality performance of each hospital through a focus on care that has been deemed important for each patient experiencing specific disease processes or medical interventions. Core measures assess for perfect care of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care improvement project. The measure incorporates numerous steps in the care of these patient populations in order to achieve all points for appropriate care. Community Hospital's outcomes were all at 100% for the second quarter.

Employee productivity was 106.63% for the quarter. Also, 254 employees or 89% received a flu shot. The remaining employees signed a declination, with a total of 100% of employees receiving the flu shot or signing a declination.

The Finance Seed reported that three of its four measures were above goal including operating margin, total volume growth and days cash on hand. Following these measures and ensuring they are meeting goal contributes to the balanced scorecard and the overall success of Community Hospital.

Directors learned that Stage 2 of the Meaningful Use regulations (HITECH Act; 2009 Stimulus Bill) was met by Community Hospital in November. This bill requires that hospitals implement electronic medical record technology and then demonstrate they are meaningful users of that technology. Requirements of the bill are being implemented in phases over a period of many years. Information about the program to date suggests that Community Hospital is one of a small group of hospitals to achieve the Stage 2 goal so early in the program.

Consent Agenda

Minutes and committee reports were approved from the January 21 regular meeting of the board of directors, January 6 of the regular meeting of the medical staff and February 4 meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee.

Action to be Taken

Under Action to be Taken, the board approved the following privileges: Consulting Medical Staff--Reappointment and Allied Health Staff Privileges--reappointment.

The directors also approved the 2014 Community HealthCare and Hospice annual program evaluation.

Review of Activities

Under review of activities, the changes to the nursing organizational chart were presented. Also, thank you notes were distributed and read.