Archive for 2020

The Salem Memorial District Hospital regular board meeting was held Tuesday evening in the Hospital Library. In the summary of operations for the month of September, the hospital had 79 inpatient admissions with 267 inpatient census days. Patients per day in Acute Care came in at 8.9 in September. The hospital showed a loss from operations of $127,466 and expenses over revenues after taxes of $125,288. Cash decreased for the month by $442,563. The days in net account receivables stayed at 108 days, the same as August. During the month, there were 637 emergency room visits to go with 208 ambulance runs with 144 patients being transported, 33 surgery cases, 2,351 outpatient registrations, 239 home health visits, 8,894 lab tests, 1,136 radiological procedures including 749 rehab treatments. Chief of Nursing Debbie Hines gave the Acute Care Staffing by Patient Acuity report that showed the average acuity at 21 per day. She also stated that on September 9th, the plan of correction that was submitted for the state survey was accepted, and then on September 30th, an infection control survey in Long-Term Care found no deficiencies. Hospital Administrator Kasey Lucas said the hospital offered health screenings the entire month in lieu of the health fair at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. Lucas said a total of 206 people took advantage of the month long savings plan. Lucas reiterated that the hospital auxiliary would not be meeting the rest of 2020. Chief Operating Officer Jason Edwards reported due to COVID-19, all the fundraisers for 2021 at this time have been postponed until further notice. That includes the “Dancing with the Salem Stars” event in January. He went on to report the hospital is finalizing the trail program documentation for the TytoCare-school focused telemedicine program through the USDA Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program grant. Edwards said the hospital is waiting on the Tyto representative for a business associate agreement. Lucas gave the COVID-19 update and said there have been 1,451 outpatient COVID-19 tests and about 20 more tests were administered for those who were inpatient admitted. Lucas said 37 employees tested positive and 32 of those have been released back to work. Lucas also reported on the hospital expansion and said the MRI shielding issues have been resolved and Canon began installing the equipment this week. He said electricians are working in the Receiving Area, and that Phase 1 of the Sewer project is complete, Phase 2 is near completion and Phase 3 will begin October 26th. He said the Outpatient Registration renovation has begun while the work in cardiopulmonary and the window projects have been completed. The board approved the Annual Bylaw Review making no changes, and they approved the purchase of two new defibrillators for EMS and one new defibrillator for Surgery from Zoil Medical for $76,124. The board then went into closed session.

This fall, Missouri youths ages 5-18 and the volunteers and faculty who serve them will have access to projects in 4-H Goes Online through Canvas, an easy-to-use online learning platform. Projects will be available in these areas: Clover Kids, Shooting Sports, Engineering and Technology, Environmental Science and Natural Resources, Plant and Animal Science, Healthy Living, Leadership and Personal Development, and Communication and Expressive Art. The online Canvas option also gives youths a chance to match with an instructor and other youths throughout the state who share their interests and passion for projects, as not all in-person clubs can offer every project. The research-based Canvas curriculum helps youths learn through online videos, lesson plans for use at home, discussion boards with peers and videoconferencing with lead instructors. New opportunities spanning multiple project areas will offer new experiences and engage a variety of communities. A partnership with MU Serves, in which undergraduate students participate in service-learning programs, opens new offerings, including a Spanish culture and language project. Families with limited broadband capacity won’t be left out as 4-H plan’s to put together project kits and USB drives that can be mailed to families without stable internet so that the time and effort being put into this online course will truly benefit all of our Missouri 4-H community. All registrations go through the 4-H Online system, but with the option to register as a member or participant, the course is open to all. The new Missouri 4-H program year runs October 1st, 2020, to September 30th, 2021. More information about the Canvas project modules and other 4-H online, or in-person programming and registration are available in the Missouri 4-H Clover Catalog and on the Missouri 4-H website. Families may sign up online anytime during the program year. An annual $5 registration fee gives families access to all 4-H programming and projects within the 4-H Canvas course. Learn more about Missouri 4-H at 4h.missouri.edu.

Intercounty Electric will be holding a Customer Appreciation Day in Salem at the Commons TODAY from 11:00 in the morning until 1:00 in the afternoon. They will be serving free hot dogs, chips and a drink. While you are they, talk with them about any problems you may be having with your Intercounty service, learn about Smarthub, or just visit with their customer relations people about different services offered by Intercounty. You can also enter a drawing to win a $25 credit on your Intercounty Electric Bill. Everyone is welcome!