Local News – Thursday, April 19th, 2018

The Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors met for the regular meeting Tuesday evening at the hospital library. Ray Bruno was sworn in as the District 5 Board of Director by Hospital Attorney Mark Weaver. Chief Financial Officer Monica Stogsdill reported the month of March had a $20,471 gain from operations with an excess of revenues over expenses of $51,505 for the month. In March, 72 patients were admitted to the hospital as acute care patients with an average per day of 9.8. There were 13 swing bed patients and 13 more patients admitted for observation in March. The cash flow statement showed a decrease in cash of $298,063 for the month with days in accounts receivable dropping to 64 from the 71 reached the previous month. Chief Nursing Officer Debbie Hines reported that in March there were 774 emergency room visits, 279 ambulance runs with 200 patients being transported to the hospital, 1,559 outpatient registrations, 221 home health visits, 7,590 lab tests, 739 radiological procedures and 740 rehab treatments. The cash-on-hand days the hospital could operate stands at 90 days year-to-date and that is still way over the Critical Access Hospital state average of 65 days. Hines went over the Quality Improvement report for the month of March for Acute Care, Social Services and the Pharmacy. A flu update showed reported flu cases drastically down in March from February to under 40 cases. The board discussed the pros and cons of changing the hospital foundation structure and reminded everyone the golf tournament will be held June 8th. Chief Operating Officer Chris Strickland reported on the community presence and involvements of the hospital by being out in the public at the opening of trout season at Montauk, the Ladies Night Out at the Salem Community Center, attending the Missouri S&T High School Career Fair on March 27th, attending the SHS Career Fair on April 6th and also being at the Business Expo on April 14th. They have even had an ambulance at the City of Salem Soccer Program. The board also received an update on the billboard advertising before Hospital Administrator Kasey Lucas reported on the hospital auxiliary meeting from April 3rd. The next meeting will be their “bring-a-friend” meeting at the Salem Community Center@The Arnory before they go on summer break. The board reviewed the patient satisfaction surveys from the Emergency Department and the SMDH Family Medicine with Emergency Department getting very good results and SMDH Family Medicine receiving outstanding positive feedback. The board approved three purchases for the Rehab Department including the purchase of a complete traction package for $6,198 from Performance Health, the purchase of a Bariatric H-Lo Table from Performance Health for $2,723, and the purchase of a Bar Activated 5 Section X-Frame Table of $2,677 from Performance Health. The board also approved the purchase of a Compression Device for Acute Replacement for $1,534, the purchase of a Blood Gas Machine for Cardio-Pulmonary from Instrumentation Laboratory for $13,500, the purchase of an EMS Manikin Head and Torso Trainer from BoundTree for $2,480, and 18 patient room heaters and air conditioners were purchased from TMI-ASG for $27,486. The board then went into closed session.

The Salem Police Department released their report for the month of March. During the month, they wrote two equipment repair orders, 18 summons to appear in court, six warning tickets, and 19 traffic tickets. The Salem Police Department investigated 13 accidents, one assault, two burglaries, two reports of a dog bite, four reports of domestic violence, six driving while being intoxicated reports, seven driving while having their license revoked or suspended, two fraud reports, one harassment report, and three reports of leaving the scene of an accident. The department also investigated two reports of minor in possession or intoxicants, seven reports of possession of a controlled substance, four reports of possession of drug paraphernalia, one report of property damage, and three reports of resisting or interfering with an arrest, eleven reports of stealing, one tampering report, and had two 96 hour commitments. They also served eight fugitive warrants and five city warrants. The police department received 1,280 calls for service during the month and handled 72 walk-ins to the station. They spent 20 hours in court testifying and 10 hours as court bailiff. The Salem Police Department drove a total of 8,813 miles and arrested 23 males and 9 females during the month of March.