News – Friday, October 2nd, 2026

The Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors held its regular monthly meeting Tuesday evening in the Doctor’s Library. The board approved the evening’s agenda and previous meeting minutes. Chief Executive Officer Brent Peirick reported that two CDs have been renewed with Town and Country Bank at 4% with a seven-month term, and one CD was renewed with Bank of Salem at 3.95% for a nine-month term. Legal advice was received from Donn Herring of Spencer Fane on formal bidding requirements for Horizon One grant-funded projects; Herring stated bids did not need to be publicized. Under new business, Dr. Leigh Anne Price asked the board to consider leaving Zachary Moser’s board position vacant for a month, out of respect for his family. The board agreed. After discussion, the board decided the position will be publicized at the beginning of October and interviews with candidates will be conducted on Oct. 27th. For the CEO report, Peirick has been working on specialty recruitment for several departments, including OB, general surgery, and cardiology. Peirick stated the hospital has signed a contract with the company Premier Specialty Network, LLC., which will be providing rheumatology services through Dr. Sandra Hoffman beginning in January. Hoffman will work out of the rural health clinic several times a month. For the summary of operations for August, the hospital recorded 54 inpatient admissions, 1,204 outpatient registrations, 560 emergency room visits, and 217 ambulance runs. Fractional Chief Financial Officer Jason Johnson provided the hospital’s financial report. Johnson reported a total operating revenue of approximately $1.7 million, against a total operating expense of approximately $2.3 million. A total loss of roughly $353,000 was reported for August, compared to a loss of roughly $436,000 in July. Days cash on hand was reported at 30. During a recent meeting between hospital staff and Equalize RCM, the company working on Accounts Receivable (AR), it was revealed there is approximately $1.5 million in uncoded claims to be dropped. Equalize RCM’s staff was given the directive to drop that amount to $820,000 by Friday. For 340B, a total net revenue of $40,406 was reported for the month of August. Johnson reported on CDM price structure comparisons between SMDH and other hospitals in the surrounding area, disclosing that SMDH is about 45% below Phelps Health; 20% below Missouri Baptist Sullivan; and 15% above Texas County Memorial Hospital. Johnson reported that the property tax revenue is at the state cap, and that a future levy request could be considered, should the board deem it necessary. Chief Nursing Officer Amber Hogan reported that the current call-light system has failed across the hospital; a wireless interim system is in place while vendor quotes are evaluated. Under Kendra Mobray’s quality improvement and risk management report, the hospital will be completing a Hybrid Hospital-wide Readmission (HWR) report. The hospital has received the executed contract from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for $1.7 million. Parking lot repairs are scheduled to begin next week and are to be completed by the end of October. HVAC repairs are estimated to begin mid-November, alongside window and door replacements. The call-light system is estimated for replacement by early spring. The board then approved entering executive session for legal and personnel discussion. The next regular meeting of the Salem Memorial Hospital Board of Directors is scheduled for Oct. 27th at 7:00 in the Doctor’s Library and is open to the public.