Alva Review-Courier -

In their later years people may experience stress from health issues, the death of a spouse or close family member, the loss of mobility or isolation and loneliness. These stresses may lead to depression or difficulty coping with life. Share Medical Center (SMC) in Alva believes this is an underserved need in the area.

At a special meeting Wednesday, Dec. 27, the Alva Hospital Authority (AHA) addressed two items. Trustees approved an agreement to contract to offer mental health services and voted to purchase a mammogram machine.

Chairman Jason Gaisford opened the meeting with members Dr. Bo Hannaford, Greg Bowman, Dr. Ken Brown and Dr. Scott Burk present. Also at the meeting were SMC Chief Financial Officer Angelica Brady and Kelly Parker, who administers the Share Medical Foundation. SMC Chief Executive Officer Kandice Allen was online to listen and make comments.

Share Medical Center will be offering mental health therapy to patients on an outpatient basis beginning July 1, 2024. Originally it was planned to house the new service at The Homestead retirement center, but that location didn’t have the required safety rating. Instead, the program will be located in the hospital. This mental health service is intended primarily for older adults.

The PMC Development and Management Services Agreement with Psychiatric Medical Care, LLC, will provide telehealth services to patients referred through the hospital. The company is based in Tennessee.

After tabling the contract earlier to get more information, the AHA was ready to consider it again. Gaisford said, “They were willing to waive start-up fees.”

Allen clarified, “They waived $85,500 in implementation and development fees and deferred all operating expenses until March of 2026.”

“The idea is they would work up to around 10 patients a month,” said Gaisford. “If they got above that, there would maybe be an additional agreement.”

Hannaford asked if the minimum number of patients was four to six. Gaisford said three patients per month are needed for the hospital to make money on the service.

“They need us to do the agreement now so it can start, like, July,” Gaisford added.

“We had requested that we start with a new fiscal year. We just felt we wouldn’t have so many projects at the same time,” said Allen.

Bowman asked if the manager’s fee of $18,500 per month was just the manager’s salary. Gaisford said that is free for the whole program, and that’s being deferred until 2026. By that time, the hospital will have submitted their cost report for reimbursement from Medicare.

“This isn’t going to be one of those things that’s a huge cash cow, but it’s one of those things that will add another $10,000 - $20,000 to your bottom line,” said Gaisford. “You get enough of those, you create positive cash flow. And this is one of those positive cash flow things. If we’re not making money, then we’re not doing it.”

“I assume we got a survey, kind of an idea?” asked Bowman.

“We talked to some folks that have actually worked with them (Psychiatric Medical Care) and figured out how that works. Apparently, the need is pretty substantial,” said Gaisford.

Hannaford made a motion, seconded by Bowman, to authorize Allen to sign the document. The motion carried unanimously.

Mammogram Machine Purchase

The other item on the agenda was the purchase of a Pristina with Efficiency Suite-2 USCAN Mammogram Machine from GE HealthCare for a price not to exceed $276,746.58.

Gaisford said, “We’ve had monies that have been donated to help purchase this item.”

Parker said, “Yes, it’s been pledged.”

“My understanding, in particular one of them wanted to go ahead and give us the money, and we said to wait until we actually made the purchase,” added Gaisford.

Parker said the total pledged to help purchase the equipment and get otherwise prepared to deliver the service is $350,000.

Gaisford reminded the trustees that the hospital’s current machine is inoperable and cannot be repaired.

“If I’m correct, this one has more capability than the one we have. This one is 3-D and our other was not,” said Parker.

“It’s a new machine, not used, correct?” asked Burk. Parker affirmed that it is a new machine.

Brown made a motion, seconded by Bowman, to purchase the machine. All trustees voted in favor.

The names of donors haven’t been released yet. Gaisford said, “Without people like that, there are certain things we can’t do, and this is one of those things that maybe we wouldn’t be able to do for our community without the generosity of those people that gave.”

Brown said, “Several people in the community asked me about the fact that we couldn’t do it. It’s good to have it back.”

“Yes, and it doesn’t mean that will happen tomorrow, but we will have it here in the near future,” said Gaisford.

Since the donations exceed the actual purchase price of the machine, Brady explained how those remaining funds will be used. “Part of the funds donated will go to purchase a service agreement for this machine. Some of our other equipment in radiology, we did not purchase service agreements for. I know that in speaking with the x-ray tech that’s been on site recently, we will be able to purchase a service agreement for our portable x-ray and our (regular) x-ray. We already have a service agreement for our CT machine,” she said. “Those repairs are often very expensive.”