The Box Butte General Hospital Board of Trustees held their monthly meeting Monday, February 25 and approved $5,000 for high school and college scholarships at the request of CNO Jane McConkey. This is in addition to the Box Butte Health Foundation board approving another $5,000 in scholarship funding for college students.
The hospital scholarships will fund $500 scholarships to graduating high school seniors who have been active in programs the hospital offers (e.g. the Health Professions Club) or plan to enter into a health care career path in college. It will also fund $1,000 scholarships for college students who are currently enrolled in health care career paths. Ms. McConkey said the number of $500 and $1,000 scholarships awarded will depend on how many applications are received from high school and college students.
The Foundation will award five $1,000 scholarships to college students on a health care career path. The Foundation announced another scholarship provided by a former patient who wanted to do something in recognition of the care she received. The $1,035 Jane Cox Memorial Nursing Scholarship will be awarded to a winning nursing student applicant.
Applicants must be from Alliance, Hemingford, Hay Springs or Hyannis High School graduates or seniors in high school who are residents of Box Butte, Dawes, Morrill, Grant or Sheridan Counties and planning enrollment as a healthcare occupation major in an accredited college program; or current college students who are residents of Box Butte, Dawes, Morrill, Grant, or Sheridan Counties enrolled in an accredited college program leading to a degree or diploma in a healthcare occupation.
Application forms can be found at www.bbgh.org, or they may be obtained by contacting Tammy Griffee, 308.761.3425, Box Butte General Hospital, 2101 Box Butte Ave., Alliance, NE, 69301. Application deadline is March 29, 2013.
Other business by the board included the following agenda items.
Clinical Pharmacist John Argyle, PhD, PharmD, was recognized as the February Employee of the Month. New employees were introduced and welcomed: Brenda Bishop, cook; Deloris Fritzler, assistant cook; Richard Greene, Certified Scrub Tech; and Brittany Johnson, LPN.
Special Services Director Mary Mockerman presented the Quality Management and Safety Report. She addressed three Nebraska Patient Safety Coalition patient safety matters. All three safety issues indicated a lack of dedicated and uninterrupted time to perform vital tasks was a contributing factor. Influenza activity in Nebraska is currently labeled as Regional, with BBGH having one patient hospitalized with influenza the week of February 17. She said the hospital continues to experience infant admissions due to RSV. Visitation restrictions will continue at least until the Infection Control Committee meets March 14.
Scott Holmes, from the architectural firm BWBR, gave a PowerPoint presentation on the latest design renderings for the new addition/renovation project. He provided the reasoning behind the various proposed designs, based on input from the public and hospital staff. He and other BWBR and BBGH representatives made the same presentation to the public at a Town Hall meeting held Tuesday evening at the Performing Arts Center in Alliance.
Controller Lori Mazanec presented the January financials and reported another good month for the hospital. January closed with an increase in net assets of $586,000. Non-operating income totaled $282,000 which consisted of the Electronic Health Record incentive from Medicaid contributed to this month’s outcome. Total Patient Service Revenue of $3,831,000 was $372,000 short of the month’s projections. Year-to-date patient service revenue totals $25,291,000 which is five percent behind budget. January operating expenses were $119,000, or four percent under budget. Year-to-date expenses continue to look favorable and remain under budget by $577,000, or three percent. January closed with operating income of $305,000, $82,000 short of expectations. The year-to-date operations have delivered a gain of $1,067,000, 15 percent behind expectations. Taken together with revenue from non-operating sources our year-to-date increase in net assets stands at $1,430,000, nine percent higher than budget predictions and slightly lower than results one year ago.
Box Butte Public Transportation (BBPT) Director Joni Kusek approached the board to request funding assistance in the amount of $15,000. Prior to making the request she reported on BBPT’s activities over the past year, including the number of one-way transport requests to BBGH. With four months left in the BBPT fiscal year, 1,197 transports have been made, putting the agency on track to having 1,800 by fiscal year end. That doesn’t include pick-ups from the hospital or other health related transports within the community and in Hemingford. When asked about funding assistance provided from entities other than BBGH, state and federal grants, Ms. Kusek said BBPT also receives substantial assistance from the county. The board unanimously approved the request due to BBPT’s vital service to county residents.
CFO Tracy Jatczak reported she and CEO Dan Griess attended the County Commissioner meeting February 15 and received approval of an $8 million General Obligation Bond Reimbursement Resolution for the new addition/renovation project. She was present to request the Trustees approve a similar Revenue Bond resolution in the amount of $25 million required by the USDA to secure that agency’s funding. The Trustees unanimously approved the resolution.
Mr. Griess presented the results from the Governance Institute on the 2012 board self-evaluation, using the Fast-Track Board Compass evaluation tool. He and the board discussed the following sections of the report: Fiduciary duties of Loyalty, Care & Obedience; Financial Oversight; Quality Oversight; Setting Strategic Direction; Board Self-Assessment and Development; Management Oversight; Advocacy; and Board Performance.
After unanimously granting the monthly credentialing requests, the board entered executive session at 8:50 p.m. for the annual evaluation of Mr. Griess as well as other personnel matters. After re-entering open session at 10:12 p.m., the board adjourned with no further action taken. The next meeting will be held Monday, March 25, at 7:00 p.m. in the Alliance Room. As always the public is welcome to attend.