Work began on a master plan for Bradley County Medical Center on Tuesday, as engineers met with BCMC board members at the Brunson Medical Complex.
Attending the meeting were Paul Gregory, principal in Polk Stanley Wilcox; Jose Bea, electrical engineer at Bernard TME, LLC; and John Dale, a principal at Bernhard.
Interim BCMC CEO Leslie Huitt said the team met with hospital managers and toured the facility.
Stanley said they would be seeking individual assessments of board members about the hospital plus surveys will be formulated.
Chief of Staff Dr. Hank Wharton said, “It’s got a lot of structure that is very old.” He suggested a brand-new acute care unit could be considered to be placed on property adjacent to the hospital which has recently been acquired. He said he feels the community view of the hospital is “overall positive.”
“We’re here to give you the heartbeat of the hospital. We can assess the present condition of the hospital. We can give you tools to help make your decisions,” Dale said.
Stanley said good Internet service would be essential to hospital services. “Because of the pandemic, a lot of people are working from home,” he noted.
Covered entryways and creating a main entrance that is handicapped-accessible were also discussed.
In other action:
- Huitt said a federal audit would be required for CARES Act funding that was received. She said she was in the process of compiling records for the audit.
- Controller Matt Pace said gross revenue increased for the month of March. Acute patient days decreased. He is working on an interim cost report for Medicare. The hospital had a positive net income in March of $123,000.
- Sales tax revenues collected in February and distributed on March 24 totaled $108,048 after the county treasurer’s commission.
- Cybersecurity procedures have been examined to ensure the hospital could withstand such attacks and have backup programs. Vice President of Support Services Marilyn Johnson attended a two-day program on such issues and found some resources the hospital could use.
- Huitt said state Sen. Ben Gilmore had met with the Public Service Commission about hospital generator programs. She said it would cost over $1 million to replace the hospital’s generator, although no action was immediately taken to do so.
- Huitt said a salary report comparing BCMC with area hospitals was being reviewed. She said a Blue and You grant for obstetrics and labor and delivery services was under consideration.
- Johnson said a maintenance review had been conducted, with information provided to board members. A $5,000 bid for powerwashing of the hospital was awarded to SouthArk Softwash and was being completed. She said staff members would attend a full-scale emergency drill in Conway this week. She said a USDA grant application had made it to the next level and other grants are being considered.
- Chief Nursing Officer Jamie Wolfe said positive COVID-19 cases treated through the hospital totaled 237 in January, 24 in February, three in March and one so far in April. However, flu cases have increased to 18. He said the AR Saves stroke prevention program was showing some success, especially if quicker consults are made which could save more lives. He said the hospital is still having some medical supply issues and there are several RN positions remaining to be filled.
- A contract was approved with Protos Security and its vendor, HISF Security, for a uniformed security officer. Huitt was authorized to make final changes in a contract.
- Medical staff rules and regulations changes were approved. Tabled were changes to the administrative manual and compliance manual.
Also, out of executive session the following actions were taken:
- A motion was made and approved to appoint the medical staff as listed.
- A motion was made and seconded to delegate authority to Interim CEO, Leslie Huitt to negotiate and enter into contracts for Medical Coding, new EMR Software, and Physical, Occupational, & Speech Therapy.
- A motion was made and approved to approve the FY21 Audit Report.
Top photo: Engineers working on a master plan for Bradley County Medical Center attended the BCMC board meeting Tuesday. Shown, from left, are Paul Stanley, Jose Bea and John Dale. Photo by Tim Kessler.