WARREN, Ark. (4/25/24) – The Bradley County Medical Center Board of Directors met Thursday, April 25 inside the hospital’s conference room for its monthly meeting. An audit presentation, financial reports, updates from BCMC leadership, and policy approvals were among the topics covered during the gathering.
The meeting began with a presentation from Nick Scott and Wes Thew from Wipfli LLP on the internal audit that was recently completed. The presentation lasted around 15 minutes and there was some discussion after. BCMC CEO/CFO Leslie Huitt noted it was a clean audit opinion.
The minutes were approved from March’s meeting before moving into Controller Matt Pace’s financial report. Pace said that occupational therapy treatments were up, and the senior care unit was doing well. The month’s gross patient revenue was $3,279,582, while the net operating revenue came in at $1,504,195. There was a net loss of $474,744. Salex tax revenue came in a little north of $110,000 to bring the total sales tax fund to $4,430,076.
Some recent frustrations have been with waiting on accounts to be coded and unbilled receivables. This was to be expected with the switch to the new electronic health records (EHR) system MEDITECH, but she was hoping at almost three months in there would be more progression. She attributed this to still learning the new system along with the recent visit from the Arkansas Department of Health for its survey that took precedence. Huitt pointed out a positive of accounts receivable decreasing since the last meeting.
Huitt continued with a brief overview of a Vitality Review Index, sponsored by the Arkansas Hospital Association. This document used data to compare BCMC to other hospitals in Arkansas. Overall, the hospital compares favorably in most categories across the state, and she noted the data was pre-MEDITECH implementation. One area she said was frustrating was that other hospitals appeared to be getting paid more by payors. She concluded her update by informing the board the air conditioner in the surgery department will be replaced on May 23 and 24.
Chief Nursing Officer Jamie Wolfe let the board know how much emphasis has been placed on stroke education. March was a good month for it, but he said April has been busier with stroke education events. He said the importance of this education can’t be understated and there have been multiple stroke cases in the emergency room with positive outcomes lately. Wolfe updated the board on the implementation of TeleSANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) in the emergency department and said it would be started in July due to some UAMS delays. Additionally, he told the board that census has been up and down, but acuity has been higher.
Chief Operating Officer Leeanna Williams began her presentation with updated on MEDITECH and the optimization still ongoing. Then she spoke about the Community Priority Action Planning Workshop the hospital held at the Warren Train Depot last week through the DRCHSD Grant. It was well-attended, and she has taken on a leadership role in the group that is looking to develop a resource guide for providers and services in the community to educate people on what is available in Warren and Bradley County. Williams finished by showing the board survey results that are gathered for HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) purposes.
The agenda continued with policy approvals as two solo policies were approved. Those policies were Code Stroke Protocol for ED Patients and Medical Director Responsibilities at the BCMC Rural Health Clinic. Policy manuals up for annual approval included Laboratory, Materials Management, and the BCMC Rural Health Clinic. The two individual policies and three policy manuals all passed unanimously.
Huitt showed the board some financial action plan items from a recent meeting with the National Rural Health Resource Center and Forvis. These action plan items and goals include ones for the hospital, BCMC Rural Health Clinic, and Home Health department.
The meeting then went to executive session. Medical staff recommendations were approved, and the meeting was adjourned.
For the latest news and updates regarding BCMC please like the Bradley County Medical Center Facebook page or follow us on Instagram (BCMCWarren) or X, formerly Twitter (@BCMC Warren). To keep up with the most recent news and updates for the BCMC Rural Health Clinic, please like the BCMC Rural Health Clinic page on Facebook.