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Westlake board meeting September 25, 2012 is upbeat Board initiates fund raising effort advocated by Vice Chair Craig Pyles, with over $2,000 pledged at meeting, led by Chairman Jim Evans' first gift. Joint Commission inspection goes well. Meaningful use $1.7 million claim will be submitted October 1, 2012. Legal heavyweight Elmer George will be hired to defend against Spectrum Health Partners' suit. Emergency Room changes will mean $11,000 in professional fees savings monthly. Health Fair, will proceed. Next Gen Computer system kinks almost ironed out. Click on headline for full story, photo(s) By Ed Waggener The toughest days may well be past at Westlake Regional Hospital, although there are still rough spots ahead, judging from the generally upbeat regular Adair County Hospital Board meeting held last night, Tuesday, September 25, 2012, with a packed, standing in the hallways crowd in attendance. Among the good news items the board heard were: A fundraising program which got underway last night, a very positive report on the hospitals patient satisfaction ratings and on a successful Joint Commission inspection, news that the hospital appears to have the $1.7 million in Federal meaningful use money nailed, good news on the patient census and profit trends, and, following an executive session, news that the hospital has hired a heavyweight attorney, Elmer George of Lebanon, KY, to defend a breach of contract lawsuit by Spectrum Health Partners. To add to that, new CEO David Rasmussen said that the hospital's annual fall health fair will take place again this fall, though, as he put it, without the balloons and handouts. The health fair's most popular feature, the low cost lab work, will be the main feature this year. Only some anticipated tight financial situations caused by the complicated system of reimbursements were cause for concern, but the hospital is closely monitoring payouts, putting hospital payroll first, with as many vendor accounts payable checks being sent as is prudently possible. Chairman Jim Evans initiates board giving The fundraising plan initiated by Board Member Craig Pyles, approved by the board unanimously, and kicked off with a $500 donation to the cause by Chairman Jim Evans, quickly drew pledges equaling approximately 1% of the the annual property tax the hospital won't be receiving because of the success of the Hospital Tax Recall Petition. In all, over $2,000 was pledged last night, and Adair County CJE Ann Melton pledged a donation to the hospital equal to what her Hospital Tax Bill would have been had it passed. Judge Melton encouraged anyone who felt the same way to call Adair County PVA Junior Feese's office (270-384-3473) to obtain the amount the tax would have been and voluntarily pay it to the hospital. Hospital CFO Tammy Curry asked that donations to the fund be made out to "Westlake Regional Hospital" with a note on the check that it is a Hospital Fund Donation. Donations should be mailed to: Westlake Regional Hospital, Attn: Administration, PO Box 1269, Columbia, KY 42728 or brought by the hospital at 901 Westlake Drive, Columbia, KY. A special bank account is being set up to handle the fund. Because the Hospital is a non profit 501(3)(C) corporation, all donations are tax deductible, hospital CEO David Rasmussen said. Vice Chair Craig Pyles, who also pledged $500 to initiate the drive, said, "You know, this is a great cause. This hospital's lifesaving possibilities are amazing. Why have a great 911, and outstanding EMS, the health department if we don't have a hospital. The hospital has to have money and it has to start somewhere." Pyles said he thought the fundraiser would do well. "The people of Adair County support good causes better than anywhere. Look at the Crusade for Children. Look at our giving to Relay for Life. Look at the Mary's House project where we raised over $40,000 in cash for a home for Ms. McGuffin and her family. The fundraiser will start very simply, but may grow into a foundation effort, along the lines of other hospital's fundraising foundations and area colleges' fundraising units. Brian Melton gives report on Next Gen computer implementation Brian Melton gave a report on the hospital's Next Gen computer implementation, noting that the clinical side implementation is going real well, and that the financial side is catching up. A few problems with the system delayed some billing by as much as three months, but that is being caught up, CFO Tammy Curry said. Dawnlynn Stamper reports Meaningful Use money appears virtually assured Dawnlynn Stamper, Clinical Systems Administrator at Westlake, reported that every criteria of the Meaningful Use claim for the $1.7 million reimbursement from the Federal Government has been met and that the claim will be filed October 1, 2012. She reported that the hospital is well ahead of schedule to obtain the next installment of the meaningful use implementation money. Monica Thomas reports on Joint Commission inspection, Patient Satisfaction Standing Monica Thomas, RN/BSN, Director, Quality and Risk Management, Infection Control Prevention, gave two encouraging reports. One, a qualified good report on the Joint Commission inspection, was upbeat, but came with a list of mostly minor corrections the commission is recommending, the other, an unqualified report on the hospital's very high rankings in Kentucky and Nationwide in patient satisfaction. In most areas, surveys showed Westlake to be No. 1 in Kentucky in patient satisfaction, and extremely high - as high as No. 2, among the over 4,000 U.S. hospitals. Mr. Rasmussen reports ER changes, saving The CEO said that the hospital will be taking back over the management and billing for the Emergency Room. The changes will mean a net savings to the hospital of some $11,000 per month in professional fees and will reduce the hospital's loss on professional fees from approximately $76,000 per month to $65,000 per month. The CEO gave members a brief lesson on hospital economics, noting, that on balance, ER's are net profit generators for hospitals, with, generally, a loss on payment of professional fees that is many times offset by increased hospital admissions, lab fees, and other charges. Elmer George hired to defend Spectrum Suit The board held a brief Executive Session and, on return, voted to hire Lebanon Attorney Elmer George to defend the hospital against a breach of contract suit by Spectrum Health Partners of Tennessee. Routine matters routinely passed The Board routinely and unanimously approved housekeeping items on the agenda, including approval of minutes for four meetings, one each on August 21, 23, 25, and 28, 2012; for recommendations of the Medical Staff on credentialing and an administrative change to the medical staff bylaws, and writeoffs for charity and collection agency turn-ins for bad debt collection. End of Report, September 25, 2012 meeting The Adair County Hospital Board of Trustees meets at 6:30pmCT each last Tuesday of each month, at the Westlake Regional Hospital Conference Room, 901 Westlake Drive, Columbia, KY. Chair, Jim Evans; Vice Chair, Craig Pyles; Treasurer, Bruce White; Secretary, Richard Grant. One member vacancy. David Rasmusssen, Administrator. Cheryl Wall, Administrative Assistant. Phone 270-384-4753. Ext. 0 for operator. This story was posted on 2012-09-26 08:59:29
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