The Murray County Medical Center Board met in regular session on September 29. Dr. Snow reviewed the medical appointments for the month which included several telemedia providers along with two Allied Health Professionals: George Hirschboeck, a nurse anesthetist and Michelle Davis, a family nurse practitioner.
Robyn Van Heuvelen reviewed the financial statistics with the Board. August hospital numbers have increased over those of 2020 in almost every area while still remaining below those of 2019. There was a net income of $46,130 for a total of $1,488,513 in 2021. The number of patients seen in the clinic has still not returned to “normal” resulting in a financial loss of $21,729 for the month of August and leaving the medical center with a loss of $356,199 for 2021.
A Capital Expense in the amount of $26,932 was given approval by the Board. A telemetry monitoring system for cardiac rehab will replace an obsolete unit. The cost will be covered by Covid relief funds. Of the remaining $2.9M in that fund, it is expected that $2M will need to be returned as unused.
In his report to the Board, CEO Luke Schryvers noted the increase in positive Covid tests with 27-30 drive-up tests daily being performed. The tests are free of charge to patients, with the cost being reimbursed to the medical center. No hospitalizations were reported for the month of September due to Covid. The possible candidate for Clinic Provider has declined a position. A new recruiting firm has been contracted to continue the search. A cyber attack of the Sanford network slowed submission of claims for the month. 78% of the MCMC staff has been vaccinated against Covid.
Dale Gillogly, Sanford representative, presented a graphic of Covid cases across the network with testing at a new high. Staffing has been stretched with high patient numbers throughout all areas of care. ICU beds have been tight and placement of patients difficult. Supplies continue to be in extreme shortage, especially for test tubes. Heather was commended for her continued ability to foresee needs and obtain supplies.
Nursing Supervisor Monica Van Otterloo mentioned the new monoclonal treatment that patients administer at home has been well received. The number of flu cases is expected to rise this season after abnormally low numbers last year.
Board Chair Lenore Wendorff commended Arl Wienrebe on his retirement with 39 years of service. “He knew what needed to be done and he did it”, was her comment.
