Sullivan Co. Memorial Hospital Offering Free Sports Physicals to Students, June Board Meeting Minutes

PROTECTED CONTENT

If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.

Username

Password

Login

Lost your password?

Username and Password Help

Please enter your email and we will send your username and password to you.

Email

Submit

← Back

 Submitted by Amy Michael 

June 22, 2023 – A regular Sullivan County Memorial Hospital (SCMH) Board of Trustees meeting was called to order on June 22, 2023, by Acting Chairperson Gary Drummond at 11:35 AM. Trustees present were Jim Heaton and Bill Lewis. Also present were Martha Gragg, Chief Executive Officer; Becky Thomas, Chief Nursing Officer; Tina Sears-Hamilton, Director of Rural Health Clinics; and Amy Michael, Chief Operating Officer; and Jasmine Hall-Ratliff, Executive Director of Build Missouri Health, a subsidiary of the Missouri Foundation for Health. 

Ms. Gragg introduced Jasmine Hall-Ratliff to the Board. Ms. Hall-Ratliff provided information on the projects her organization is prioritizing which includes affordable housing, healthcare workforce, and environmental impact on healthcare outcomes. Ms. Hall-Ratliff also met with Crystal Brinkley Bupp, Milan City Administrator and members of the Milan Leadership Coalition while visiting Sullivan County to discuss the biggest challenges in the area. Ms. Hall-Ratliff left the meeting at 11:55AM. 

Ms. Gragg, CEO, requested to add to the agenda the approval of Vicki Daily and Teresa Blair to the Sullivan County Memorial Hospital Foundation and the purchase of an air conditioning compressor. 

MINUTES: Acting Chairperson Drummond called for a motion to approve the regular meeting minutes from the June 1, 2023, Board of Trustees meeting. Trustee Lewis made a motion to approve the minutes. Trustee Heaton seconded the motion. Trustees Heaton, Lewis, and Drummond voted yes. Motion carried. 

CEO REPORT: Ms. Gragg provided an update on current grants and grant applications. The No Cost Extension for the Rural Health Network Development Planning grant was approved. Kenna Ho with the Georgia Health Policy Center Technical Assistance came to Milan June 20-22, 2023, and met with Trustee Lewis and network partners and assisted in the strategi planning to prepare for the extension period. Milan Health Care and North Central Missouri Mental Health Center have accepted the invitation to join the Network. 

No notifications have been received regarding the award of the US Department of Homeland Security and FEMA Security Grant and Health Resources and Services Administration Advanced Nursing Education Workforce Grant. 

The documentation requested by the USDA representatives has been submitted to the Kirksville office to review. This information will be sent to their central office for further review to assess the financial feasibility of a new hospital facility and the next steps in pursing USDA funding. 

Cassity Avila, Outreach and Training Manager from the Central for Optimizing Rural Health Grant introduced William Eide, architect with the Center for Health Systems and Design at Texas A&M University to the SCMH Administration Team. A call was held with Mr. Eide on June 8th. His services are available through the grant to continue work on the Strategic Facility Master Plan and to provide resources for a Planning Consultant and a study of space requirements. SCMH staff will be viewing a four-session on-demand series to acquaint individuals with hospital construction project design and delivery titled ‘Hospital Building Renovation and Replacement Course Description’. Additional calls are scheduled with Mr. Eide to assist in this process. 

Kalli Miller, Radiology Department Manager was recognized as the Employee of the Month. Kalli began her career with SCMH in May 2022 as a Radiological Technologist, she was promoted to department manager in March 2023. Her nomination form states, “Kalli has been here a short time but always has a smile on her face. She always tries to work out easy and low-cost problems in her department. It is an honor to have her on the SCMH team.” “Kalli is professional, organized, smart and amazing to work with. A great asset to our team.” 

Currently the radiology department manager, Kalli Miller, is investigating changing the PACS systems in their department to improve the process of providers having the ability to view radiology images. 

The Service Excellence Initiative is progressing well. The two-hour workshops for staff are in progress and have been received with positive feedback from attendees. The Service Empowerment Leadership class is scheduled for June 23rd and the Winning with Difficult People will be offered June 27th. Nursing leadership, CEO, and COO are participating in a 5-Star Swing Bed Program education over a course of 24 weeks. 

To improve the marketing of SCMH the hospital’s website scmhospital.org is being refreshed. All SCMH clinics are offering free sports physicals for students in July and August. 

Ms. Gragg provided a construction update. Ms. Gragg reviewed the requested change orders for the Life Safety Project with the Board totaling $10,761. The quarterly report required by State and CMS has been drafted and is under review. It will be submitted by June 23rd. Meyers and Electric and Tech Electronics are finalizing the design of the fire detection/smoke alarm system to be reviewed by PEC. The design will be reviewed by the Engineering Consulting Unit (ECU) at State before work commences. 

A compressor on an air conditioning unit quit working and is not repairable. Ms. Gragg requested to purchase a new compressor for the unit in the amount of $6.739. 

SCMH staff participated in the Rural Electric 

Coop (REC) annual meeting. Blood glucose and blood pressure checks were offered. The Community Health Needs Assessment was offered to attendees to complete by paper or by QR code depending on their choice. 

The SCMH Foundation met on June 21st. The Foundation Board is requesting the hospital’s Board appoint Vicki Daily and Teresa Blair to the SCMH Foundation Board. The Foundation Board also voted to donate the cost of the nurses’ station remodel and landscaping in the amount of $24,413 and $12,800 respectively. 

FINANCIAL REPORT: The May 2023 financial report was presented to the Board. The hospital had a loss of $91,768 for May 2023. The year-to-date loss is $387,983. Ms. Michael reported $308,981.10 from the Capital Improvement ½ Cent Sales Tax account was used to reimburse the hospital for construction expenses incurred thru May. 

A Life Safety Building Construction Project Report was presented to the Board. The report provides the initial cost of the project with added change orders and supplemental agreements. As of June 21, 2023, the cost of the project is $1,651,195.72. The report also showed what has been paid to date, what remains unpaid and the anticipated source of funding. 

PATIENT CARE REPORT: The Board reviewed the May hospital patient care report. Ms. Thomas reported she received her PALS certification so she can teach the PALS class at SCMH. A CNA class is going to be offered at SCMH. This class is open to the community for anyone who wants to receive their certification. Ms. Thomas met with the case manager at NERMC about SCMH’s Swing Bed (Skilled) Program to let them know if they have an acute care patient that needs additional care before transitioning to home to consider SCMH for the patient’s additional care. Ms. Thomas is working on a Total Patient Care Model to use at SCMH for nurse staffing. 

RURAL HEALTH CLINICS REPORT: The Board reviewed the April rural health clinics patient care report. Ms. Sears-Hamilton reported effective July 11th wound care services will be moved to the Physicians Clinic for consults and debridement services offered by Connie Barker, NP. A quality improvement initiative is being conducted to ensure the loop is closed when test results are received and information is relayed to the patient in a timely manner. Ms. Sears-Hamilton reported she is training to learn the scribe duties and be the backup for Dr. Williams’s scribe. 

NEW BUSINESS: Trustee Lewis made a motion to approve Change Order 5 for item 1 

PR-9 Item 1 new door in opening 303C in the amount of $1,474.00. Trustee Heaton seconded the motion. Trustees Lewis, Heaton, and Drummond voted yes. Motion carried.

Trustee Lewis made a motion to approve Change Order 5 for item 2 PR-9 Item 2 wall protection in emergency corridor G407 in the amount of $4,760.00. Trustee Lewis seconded the motion. Trustees Lewis, Heaton, and Drummond voted yes. 

Trustee Lewis made a motion to approve Change Order 5 for item 3 PR-10 Item 1 isolation bay emergency lighting adjustment in the amount of $567.00. Trustee Lewis seconded the motion. Trustees Lewis, Heaton, and Drummond voted yes. Motion carried. 

Trustee Lewis made a motion to approve Supplemental Agreement 12 design for items in Change Order 3 in the amount of $3,960.00. Trustee Lewis seconded the motion. Trustees Lewis, Heaton, and Drummond voted yes. Motion carried.

Trustee Lewis made a motion to approve the reappointment of Dr. Larry Handlin to Medical Staff with Consulting Staff privileges. Trustee Heaton seconded the motion. Trustees Lewis, Heaton and Drummond voted yes. Motion carried. 

Trustee Heaton made a motion to approve the purchase of an air conditioning compressor in the amount of $6,739. Trustee Lewis seconded the motion. Trustees Lewis, Heaton and Drummond voted yes. Motion carries.

Trustee Lewis made a motion to approve the appointment of Vicki Daily and Teresa Blair to the Sullivan County Memorial Hospital Foundation Board. Trustee Heaton seconded the motion. Lewis, Heaton, and Drummond voted yes.