Local News – Wednesday, October 19, 2022
The Salem Memorial District Hospital regular board meeting was held Tuesday evening in the Hospital Library. Hospital CEO Wayne Reid said the new CT Scanner has been installed and is working incredibly. Reid said he and hospital staff members met with the Doe Run Human Resources Department about utilizing the SMDH services such as for employee physicals. Construction of the new patient registration stations at the clinic are done, but counters still need to be installed for the operators. Dr. Nabil Munfakh, cardiothoracic surgeon, saw his first patient and has 20 more scheduled before the end of this month. In the pharmacy 340B audit, the only issue noted was that some swing bed patients were getting the 340b credit and that is not allowed. Home Health Director Kristie Gorman gave her six-month report and said 26 of 63 surveys were returned showing an 81% overall rating of care with an 83% likelihood of the patient recommending their services. They had 82 admissions from January to June of this year and received a four-star rating from Care Compare who rates all home health agencies in the area. Chief Financial Officer JoeAnn Hammond gave the summary of operations for the month of September showing the hospital had 78 inpatient admissions with 219 inpatient census days. There were 78 swingbed days with an average length of stay of 13 days. The hospital showed a gain from operations of $108,315. During the month, there were 668 emergency room visits with 50 admissions, plus there were 225 ambulance runs where 166 patients were transported. In September, there were 32 surgery cases, 1,365 outpatient registrations, 5,921 lab tests, 1,208 radiological procedures, 545 rehab treatments and 194 home health visits with 16 home health admissions. The days cash on hand was at 50 with $3.86 million in total cash. Chief Nursing Officer Ashley Sullins gave a staffing update that showed a vacancy of four nurses. She said flu vaccinations are now available for the employees and the current cases of COVID in Dent County are at seven with the community indicator being green which is good. The Hospital Foundation has scheduled a cornhole tournament for March 11, 2023 at the Salem Community Center@The Armory and the return of “Dancing with the Salem Stars” on February 17, 2024. Reid complimented Maintenance Director Todd Workman and his work with running the new electric service lines to the maintenance room and replacing fuses as part of the transformer work. Reid said the administration is talking with an architect about running a drain line to the back of the building where the grease trap could be put in, with the feed going into the lagoon. He also said an architectural analysis of the SMDH Clinic is being done to improve traffic flow. The board approved the replacing the current phone system with an Avaya Phone PBX system with an annual cost of $5,885 after the initial set up costs of $63,870 from 3CX out of Springfield which was a non-budgeted purchase; approved the Allscripts data conversion of SMDH Clinic files at $16,606 from BCS Enterprises which was budgeted, and the board approved the purchase of a new pressure regulator valve to replace the current valve for $4,931. The board approved a resolution indicating the legal name of the hospital is the “Salem Memorial District Hospital” with a fictitious name of Salem Memorial Hospital. Reid said the training for Tiffin Felkerson as the Community Champion through the Delta Regional Authority is complete, and a Community Connection Event has been scheduled for November 10th at the Salem Community Center@The Armory to develop community partnerships and find out what the community feels the needs are to improve health outcomes. The hospital board’s next meeting will be November 22nd with a strategic planning meeting to be held on December 8th. The December board meeting has been scheduled for December 14th. The board then went into closed session.
The Salem R-80 Board of Education will hold their regular meeting Thursday evening at 5:30 in the Salem R-80 Boardroom. After the approval of the agenda, the Board will move into Executive Session to hear parent comments related to personnel issues. In open session, the board will hear the Superintendent Dr. Lynne Reed’s report. The board will also hear reports from William Lynch Elementary School, the upper elementary school, the middle school, the senior high, on special education, on technology and on athletics and transportation. New business will include the Request for Qualifications for an Architect/Engineer for the new elementary school, approval of the SRCSP policy, discuss bus driver pay, and consider Dent Family Scholarship Authorized Signatures. The board will hear resignations, if there are any, before adjourning. Except for the Executive Session, the meeting Thursday evening will be open to the public.
A one vehicle accident happened Monday morning at 5:30 in Texas County on Highway 137, just south of Licking. According to the highway patrol report, a 2003 Ford Ranger driven south by 29-year-old Bobby Williams of Licking, traveled off the right side of the road, struck a mailbox, then overcorrected and traveled off the left side of the road. Williams, who was not wearing a safety restraint, suffered minor injuries, and was taken to the Texas County Memorial hospital for treatment. The Ford sustained minor damage and was removed from the scene by Jay’s Automotive.
An accident occurred Monday morning just before 9:00 in Crawford County on Highway P about three miles north of Cuba. The report from the highway patrol states that a 2008 Harley Davidson Sportster, being operated by 49-year-old Shawn Kline of Cuba, struck a deer in the roadway. Kline went off the right side of the roadway and was ejected from the motorcycle. Kline suffered serious injuries and was flown by Air Evac to Mercy Creve Coeur. The Harley Davidson was totaled and removed from the scene by Chuck’s Towing. The report went on state that Kline was wearing any safety equipment at the time of the accident.