It's getting busier at Share Medical Center
August 28, 2020
Business is picking up at Share Medical Center, according to CEO Kandice Allen. She was giving a report at the monthly Alva Hospital Authority (AHA) meeting Tuesday. Dr. Bryce Galbraith, who opened his practice in July, is getting busier too.
AHA members present were Chairman Jason Gaisford, Dr. Kenneth Brown, Dr. Bo Hannaford, Dr. Halah Simon, Jay Randels and Dr. Michael Lawrence. Kim Baugh was absent.
During July the hospital had four swing bed patients, all on Medicare, resulting in 48 swing bed days. There were 31 patients admitted to the floor during the month. Sixteen were observation patients and 15 were acute care patients. The emergency room saw 189 patients during July with 31 admitted, 15 transferred and 143 discharged home.
Allen reported the hospital’s payroll is now online through Paycom which also handles background checks on new employees.
Share Medical has been moving their patient accounting to TruBridge. They are making sure all accounts have been transferred. Allen said TruBridge will start turning past due accounts over to collections and will pursue legal action on non-payments.
The hospital is looking for alternative solutions for door and camera systems. It’s possible they might be able to use COVID-19 funds for this.
The hospital needs four to six replacement workstations on wheels. It will be presented as a COVID-19 project due to antimicrobial carts with the needed cleaning holders, sharps containers and other features.
Northwestern Oklahoma State University has confirmed they will be returning for clinical rotations this fall. Northwest Technology Center completed their clinical rotations, and a luncheon was provided for students and their instructor highlighting Share Medical Center. The hospital hopes to encourage the students to apply with them for post-graduation employment.
Allen said upfront collections for July are $15,355.56 which is about half of the average amount before COVID-19.
Dr. Dewayne Schmidt, a cardiologist, is interested in doing a clinic at Share. He is in a group practice rather than being affiliated with a hospital.
David Camp, the new human resources director, is expected to start Sept. 1.
Allen said Dr. Philip Self will be back in his downtown clinic on Nov. 2 after finishing his deployment with the navy reserve. Steve Madrid, PA, who has been staffing Dr. Self’s clinic, will then move into Suite A at the Professional Building to join Dr. Galbraith.
Change in CT Lease
Interim CFO Steve Knox reported that he didn’t get July financials finished in time for the AHA meeting. He has been training Chris Lauderdale, who was hired as the new CFO, which takes some time and slows everything down. However, he was optimistic about Lauderdale picking up more of the load soon.
Another delay was caused because it was discovered some issues with revenue not being reported correctly with TruBridge.
After the AHA trustees approved a payment agreement to lease a new CT machine last month, the financing company asked for a lot of financial information and wanted to make some changes. Canon Medical Finance USA is the financing company. Knox said he believes the unstable financial situation of many rural hospitals caused them to be extra cautious. As a result, they asked for ten percent of the cost of the machine up front with the remainder being financed.
While the larger upfront cost means the hospital will pay out more now, it will save them from some of the interest payment later. The total cost of the machine remains the same. The initial payment will be $33,831.40 with 23 payments (lease only) of $5,290.20 per month followed by 48 additional payments (combined lease and service agreement) of $9,251.37 per month for a total of $610,571.76. The AHA members approved the new lease agreement.
Knox said as he transfers more of the accounting over to Lauderdale, he will concentrate his efforts on the accounting for COVID-19 funds. He provided multipage documents detailing those accounts for the hospital and nursing home. The hospital was allocated just over $3.55 million in stimulus money with $658,202 spent for lost revenue and $9,817 for operating expenses. Another $35,095 was spent for patient beds. He said the hospital still has $2,768,480.59 left for use.
Share Convalescent Home received $326,703 in stimulus money. So far they have used $261,788 for loss of revenue and $50,492 for operating expenses. They have $14,417.28 remaining in their account.
Medical Staff
Dr. Lawrence said the medical staff executive committee met and recommended the reappointment to courtesy staff of Steven Danley, DO. Brown made the motion for the reappointment, seconded by Simon. The motion carried unanimously.
Share Convalescent Home
Share Convalescent Home Administrator Kelly Parker reported the nursing home has experienced a slight reduction in the average daily census with 45.8 in July and 46.2 in June.
Parker said in August the focus has been on COVID-19. After entering Reopening Phase II and beginning to schedule in-person visitors, on Aug. 4 the nursing home received positive test results on an employee who had not been in the building since July 22. This caused them to return to Phase I level. So no visitors are being allowed.
They are continuing regular Facebook updates, Zoom virtual visits for families, window visits with families and supervised time outdoors when the weather is nice. Parker said they are trying to find the best ways to get people in touch with their loved ones. Residents are experiencing declines due to the isolation. However, he doesn’t see the nursing home getting out of Phase I anytime soon.
CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) is going to require regular testing of staff with testing to be offered to residents. Tuesday Share Convalescent had 120 employees tested with the hospital lab processing them. All tests were negative.
Share Convalescent’s quarterly CASPER (Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports) report showed improvement. Parker said the problems are largely documentation. The nursing home is doing everything right but they are not getting credit for it due to documentation issues.
Parker provided information showing the costs for agency staffing which is more expensive than using regular employees. When they are short on regular staff, the nursing home has to supplement with agency personnel. During May, Share Convalescent spent $17,335.50 for agency help. During June that dropped to $8,459.75 and in July it was $6,854.25. Parker said when he started at the nursing home agency costs were more like $15,000 per week.
Parker said the convalescent home income statements had looked good in the past but collections were lagging. This year he has reached a 99 percent collection rate.
There was no report on The Homestead retirement home. Parker and Tonya Esquibel assumed responsibilities there on July 8, working with Carla Hess as the onsite manager.
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