Hospital Board Approves New
Budget
Claiborne Progress
by W. Lee Brame
June 29, 2006
Members of the Claiborne county Hospital Board
met on Tuesday evening, June 20th, to consider a full agenda that included
approval of the hospital budget for fiscal year 2007.
As many readers will recall, the hospital has
failed to meet profitability requirements for several months and has taken
aggressive action to improve customer service and to improve administrative
efficiencies. Many staff members also took pay cuts to keep the hospital
solvent. The results of the previous six months efforts were evident in May's
financial report.
For the month of May, all hospital operating divisions except Home Health met
their budget requirements. For the entire year, the budget shortfall has
decreased to only $31,000 (rounded). Board members congratulated the staff for
their efforts and listened attentively to a detailed recommendation dealing with
staff salaries and wages that will allow many staff members to make up for the
cuts they took earlier in the year. The professionally presented staff analysis
considered pay scales and benefits paid by various Tennessee health service
providers and approved the new pay scales for the coming fiscal year. The board
also approved increases in shift differentials and the use of a weekend pay
differential as well. Starting pay for new employees will also be increased.
Details of the change were too extensive to present in a short article, but the
bottom line is that most employees will see an increase in pay and no employee
is expected to lose money because of the changes.
The board also approved the hospital Quality Management Report and noted that
two of the three refurbished ambulances (approved last year by the county
commission) had been placed in service. The third refurbished ambulance should
be delivered by the end of the June. The refurbished ambulances helped move
Emergency Services profitable in May after many difficult months dealing with
unexpected maintenance costs.
The hospital's new sleep study center is also operating successfully. Local
physicians who have patients in need of a sleep study no longer have to send
those patients to Knoxville. Equipment for the upgraded MRI will also be
delivered in July. Linda Vanlandingham, RN, the hospital's Director of Quality
and Risk Management also presented the board with an analysis of the hospital's
response to the June 15th bus accident (previously reported in the Claiborne
Progress). People injured in the accident were sent to different hospitals to
prevent any one facility from being overwhelmed. The first accident victims
arrived at 6:02 p.m. (within 15 minutes of the accident). Eight patients were
carried in by ambulance crews on stretchers and 21 additional patients were
checked and treated by hospital staff.
Hospital emergency recall procedures were
practiced and nine active staff (Doctors Rose, Thomas, Dimri, Sultan, Debusk,
Patel, Sunan, Neal and Sultan) and two Physicians Assistants (Johnson and Loope)
immediately responded to assist the two emergency room physicians (Grayson and
Akoury) on-duty. Twenty additional staff members (in addition to the operating
room crew) also responded. Twenty six of the patients were treated and released
within two hours of arrival. Three others required more extensive treatment.
Hospital Administrator Tim Brown wanted the board to understand that this was
an exceptional performance for a rural hospital and wanted to recognize all who
responded to the community emergency. Most board members responded that they had
already heard positive comments from many in the county.
Your correspondent and the Claiborne Progress would also like to thank and
acknowledge the individuals who responded and those whose planning made the
effective response possible.
Among other items discussed during the long meeting, Dr. Badera was selected
as the new hospital Chief of Medical Staff. Dr. Neal, the previous year's chief
of staff was thanked for his efforts in establishing new Quality Management
procedures and for his continual willingness to work for hospital improvements.
The board also accepted a proposal dealing with credentialing medical staff that
support the hospital through telemedicine procedures.
