RCH looks to replace optometry services
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Several changes coming in the next few months were announced at the regular monthly Ringgold County Hospital board of trustees meeting on Monday, March 25.
The board received news that optometry services would no longer be provided by Family Vision Center.
With the recent sale of Family Vision Center to Elevate Eyecare, a multi-state corporation headquartered in West Columbia, South Carolina, RCH CEO, Nicky Gilbertson stated a cancellation of services notice was received, and it was indicated a change of business model and structure had been made and current optometry services would be discontinued as of April 1.
In light of this recent change, conversations to bring an ophthalmologist to RCH’s visiting physician’s clinic have been put on hold.
Gilbertson added, efforts are being made to look at partnering with other facilities as well as reaching out to potentially interested eye care providers individually to find a solution to continue bringing eye healthcare to RCH through the visiting physician’s clinic.
Board member, Greg Jobe, inquired about the number of patients seen through this service and Gilbertson stated the optometry service was typically full with appointments on scheduled clinic days. Jobe added he had found personally, the schedule was often a month out to get an appointment, affirming the need for continuing to provide this clinic service.
New positions are also on target to be filled.
A new interim CFO has been found replacing Missy Walter, former CFO, and the individual has accepted the agreement offered by RCH. The new interim’s name will be announced once the position is started on April 2.
Gilbertson went on to tell the board, the first candidate for the open position of CFO has been received.
New also to RCH is an administrative assistant, hired to fill the vacancy with Brenda Willis’ resignation. The individual has been offered and accepted an agreement and will be named when the employee begins work.
The final staff member anticipated to be added to RCH’s provider list in the next couple of months, following the resignation of Leah Nelson,
AARNP, is an Advanced Practice Provider. If the offer extended is accepted, it is expected the new provider will begin work the end of April or beginning of May.
Gilbertson rounded out the list of staff changes sharing with the board they are beginning interviews for a provider to replace Marcy Gregg who will be retiring this fall.
New goals have been set by the Quality Improvement Committee according to Clinical Care Officer, (CCO).
The first goal is creating and working on a “Just Culture”. This initiative is not new to the healthcare world but is new to RCH. RCH will initiate an environment of “just culture” to promote a strong culture of safety by engaging leadership, educating staff, and appointing a “just culture” champion.
The second annual goal of the committee is to start a Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC). This will begin with selecting an internal team, establishing initial goals and work-plan for the council, and recruiting community members. The intent of this council would be to offer a forum for the hospital to obtain ideas, input, and insights to guide future quality improvement.
Sandra Christensen, Mercy Network liaison presented a “snapshot” look at the financial picture for the month of February.
Christensen cited areas for improvement, including days cash on hand. For the longterm that figure sits at 107 days, 170 days would be the target number.
Christensen shared with the board a recent cyber attack hit a common claims processing vendor affecting facilities across the board preventing the processing of claims. That is where the available “cash on hand” days would be important to keep facilities running.
In looking at the overall picture, the goal for RCH is to get to a total margin of break even. Last year, RCH showed a loss of over $900K and this year, current year to date loss sits at $144K. Christensen credited the “nice improvement” to a better managed budget which “makes the bottom line look better”. Goals continue to be generating profitability.
A miscellaneous item was the change of date for the May board of trustees meeting. As the regular date falls on Memorial Weekend, the meeting will be changed to May 20.
