Alva Review-Courier -

Share Medical Center is getting closer to a break-even point thanks to being designated as a critical access hospital (CAH). CFO Kevin O’Brien told the Alva Hospital Authority trustees Tuesday that other factors are also favorable but the CAH designation “made the difference.”

O’Brien said the hospital is doing better at up-front collections when people visit clinics, and they’re encouraging people who need it to file for financial assistance right away instead waiting.

He said sales tax is also up. The hospital receives a 0.75 percent city sales tax. “That’s really a bright point for us to see the sales tax improve,” he said. “It means the community is doing well too.”

Chairman Jason Gaisford asked Alva Mayor Kelly Parker if the city has talked about this. Parker said, “We’re at levels that we haven’t seen since 2015-2016.” He said there’s quite a bit of quiet economic development going on and use tax from internet and other outside the city sales is also impacting the numbers.

O’Brien said the hospital did another interim study on CAH reimbursements. The hospital will probably see the result in mid-May to early June. He expects this to bring in about $200,000. Overall the CAH designation will increase hospital revenue by nearly a million dollars for the year.

The hospital’s gross patient revenue for March totaled $2,066,962 which was a $110,663 increase compared to February. Total patient days for March were 144 compared to 164 in February which was a high flu month. Total clinic office visits for March were 1,506 compared to 1,714 in February.

The hospital net loss for March was $24,822 compared to a $38,275 loss in February. Salaries were up in March mainly due to an electronic health records consultant who cost $12,000.

The hospital showed an improvement of almost $800,000 comparing the year to date net loss of $650,826 for 2019 to the $1,414,922 loss for the same period a year ago.

CEO Report

CEO Kandice Allen said there was nothing new to report in physician recruitment. The hospital will be interviewing two prospects in the next couple of weeks, and two interviews are scheduled in May.

Allen said she has also been talking to Dr. Wells and Dr. Collins from the nursing program to encourage graduates to consider the Alva hospital when they graduate.

Up-front collections continue to do well with March collections at $64,533.77.

She said letters are being sent out to Dr. Michael Lawrence’s patients regarding his practice closing May 17. He will continue working in the Share Medical emergency room.

Quality Assurance Process Improvement

O’Brien reported the QAPI meeting was held the previous week. They are getting ready for the next survey which will happen randomly sometime between now and July. He said most initiatives have been met and all departments will be developing new initiatives for the upcoming year.

O’Brien gave an example of one initiative that all patients be seen within an hour with a goal of 90 percent compliance. He said the average is at 95 percent. It went down to 93 percent during the flu season in February.

The human resources department has developed new job descriptions for everyone and the employees have signed off on them.

Convalescent Home

Share Convalescent Home Administrator Rita Goodrich reported she and Christy Willyard, director of nursing, attended the two day annual Leading Age conference in Midwest City. The nursing home staff had first aid training from Tammy Mustard and fire safety training from Alva Fire Marshal Bryan Miller.

Seven or eight residents participated in the Senior Olympics, bringing home two medals. In other activities, residents painted birdhouses and had the opportunity to attend Zumba on Fridays in the lobby. Delta Zeta Sorority members painted the ladies’ nails.

The nursing home average daily census was 53 in March, a decrease from 56 in February. Skilled nursing days decreased to 217 in March from 279 in February. Staffing continues to be challenging on the day and evening shifts. Agency staffing was used to provide needed nursing coverage in March including spring break.

Operating cash balance for March was $24,659 which represents 2.5 days of operating expenses, excluding depreciation. Convalescent home accounts receivable balance of $712,212 was an increase of $47,512 from February, but Goodrich said some of those have been collected in April.

For March the convalescent home had a net income of $12,596 compared to a loss of $7,420 in February.

Looking at year to date comparisons, Goodrich noted that the other expenses category which is mostly agency staff was $809,611 in fiscal year 2019 through March while the same period last year the amount was $695,627.

The Homestead

The Homestead Retirement Center has experienced a reduction in occupancy the last few months said Kelly Parker, the administrator. In March they had 39.9 paid nights, down about seven from February. The occupancy rate is down 14.8 percent compared to March of last year. However year to date numbers are comparable to the past few years. At the end of March The Homestead had 41 residents occupying 41 apartments, including one SMC provider and four SMC contract staff.

After a growing use of expanded services, the facility experienced a decrease in use during March.

Parker said the office carpet is scheduled to be replaced on April 25. This is the final flooring replacement for the public areas. Three people have paid deposits to be on the waiting list for the super two bedroom conversion which is still be renovated. This Share Trust grant-funded project will include a ceiling lift, a track system and a walk-in bathtub.

The Homestead was being presented a gift of $5,000 later in the week to be used for new activity room tables and chairs as well as lobby furniture. Residents are looking forward to the new furnishings since the current lobby furniture is original to the building in 1998.

Parker praised Karen Campbell for a “knockout job” with the budget on the café. They’ve had an increase of almost 14 percent in the number of meals but Campbell has managed to lower costs while keeping up the quality.

The Homestead had a net income of $20,535 for March compared to $14,104 in February. Parker compared year to date figures through March for 2018 and 2019. In 2019 total operating revenue was $72,945 compared to $84,068 in 2018. However, total operating expenses were $52,410 in 2019 compared to $70,596 in 2018. So even though revenue was down for the current year, expenses were also down. The year to date net income for 2019 is $20,535 compared to $13,471 for the same period last year.

St. Anthony’s Report

Bridget Cosby with St. Anthony’s reported they have entered into a letter of intent with Harper County in Buffalo. She said the intent is to move into a management agreement with that hospital.

St. Anthony’s is also taking over the El Reno hospital May 1. The state health department is letting them use the current building after Mercy shut down the inpatient beds as well as the ER. They are working with El Reno to construct a new building on I40.

Cosby said St. Anthony’s is rural partners with Purcell where they are working to get a new building. The current building is not holding up well. The new building will be on the I35 corridor and will be a micro-hospital with about eight beds and an ER. Since the Pauls Valley hospital shut down, more of those people are going to Purcell which is only 20 miles away.

St. Anthony’s is also working to update telemedicine. They are sending a letter to USDA. Technology has changed a lot since they first received the grant for telemedicine. They have gone from one cart in each facility to four. There are two models: specialists on the out-patient side and in-patients. A very large upgrade of equipment is coming in August with new carts being built for in-patient services. The specialist upgrade will follow. They will be using more cloud-based software. Doctors will also have more mobility. Currently they must go to one of three locations. In the future, they will have access through portable tablets.

As the meeting adjourned, Gaisford reminded everyone the next meeting will be on May 28.