Submitted by Ann Ness, League Observer
As a matter of interest, the Hospital Board Governance & Planning Committee met on June 8 at 7:00 a.m., and the minutes indicate that Steve Delzer, John Lundblad and Ken Bank brought the other attendees (Bob Shepley, M.D., Curt Swenson, Lee Lansing, Mayor, and David Oliver) “up-to-date on the status of restructuring study
discussions. The governance documents have been put into final draft form and the focus of attention is now on trying to finalize drafts of the landlord’s agreement and the sublease between the City and the new not-for-profit. A consultant is also working diligently to put together a comprehensive summary of all information related to the Restructuring Study. This will form the basis for education and discussion among the Board of Directors, the Northfield City Council and the public.An interesting development that has occurred during the course of the Restructuring Study is legislation that makes Hennepin County Medical Center a ‘public subsidiary’ of Hennepin County. Through this legislation, HCMC is granted many of the same benefits enjoyed by not-for-profit organizations while retaining many benefits of public organizations. Because of this, the information summary that is being created is structured to compare minimal organizational change with creation of a community-owned, not-for-profit organization or creation of a public subsidiary model.”
Board Chairperson Steve Delzer called the monthly Board meeting to order at 6:45 p.m.
Gary Anderson, Director of Pharmacy and Chief Pharmacist, along with Mary Crowe, gave a presentation on Omnicell, an automated medication dispensing system for the Emergency Department, Medical-Surgical/CCU Units and Birth Center. The system ties patient information from the hospital’s new Meditech business system and enterprise medical record to an advanced medication software program to automatically dispense right drugs in right doses to the right patients. It was necessary to have Meditech up and running before such an automated system could be used. A lot of work was done by the Patient Subcommittee regarding common errors.
The machine would function like an ATM with each patient being given an account. The machine would dispense the appropriate medications to the nurse for each patient based on their individual medication profile. Site visits to see the Omnicell program were made to Hutchinson Hospital which has 58 beds and to the Hennepin County Medical Center which has 336 beds, the largest account in MN. Everything the nurse or pharmacist enters into the computer is recorded.
The company will hold training seminars for nurses. The pharmacist will enter prescriptions through Meditech. There is a back-up system and keys to get into the system if the computer breaks down. The system can generate reports and customize reports. Currently there are 2 nurses who physically count out narcotics. The machine spits out one dose at a time. Now each patient has a drawer. A nurse might be looking through 15 different medications. The machine uses a Bio I.D., i.e, a fingerprint. $431.00 a month is the ongoing maintenance cost. The hospital will train a maintenance person.
A bid process was conducted and bids were received from Pyxis and Omnicell. Omnicell cost the least at $202,417.00. There will be additional costs of approximately $15,000 to interface Meditech with the system. Staff were pleased with both systems’ ease of use and did not strongly prefer one system over another. A motion to approve the purchase of Omnicell was taken and passed unanimously.
Roger Stapek presented a Voluntary Agreement on Billing and Collection which resulted from negotiations between the Minnesota Hospital Association and Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch. The agreement was announced in May of 2005. Thus far, at least five of the state’s major healthcare systems, along with several independent hospitals, have voluntarily agreed to abide by these billing and collection practices. Seventy-five per cent or more of total Minnesota hospital admissions are now covered by these agreements. The 19-page agreement will remain in effect for two years. Mr. Stapek plans to add an additional $28,000 for this plan to his budget for write-offs. The charity budget was $102,000 this year. Ken Bank stated that this agreement doesn’t deal with the underlying problem of uninsured patients. In response to critics who wondered why the Hospital had not yet signed the Agreement, Mr. Bank stated that this was the first Board meeting since the Hospital received the Agreement. The Board unanimously approved the Agreement.
The Board approved the Hospital Quality and Performance Improvement Framework. This framework provides a guideline for a planned, systematic, organizational approach for process design and performance measurement, assessment, and improvement activities that are collaborative and interdisciplinary. The Quality and Performance Improvement process is reviewed annually to determine its effectiveness.
The Revised Professional Reference Questionnaire was approved. The question about applicant health status was changed to “Are you aware of any alcohol impairment?”
A list of applicants for Medical Staff Membership/Privileges was approved.
David Oliver gave a regional clinic update. As of June 21, the Lonsdale Clinic was waiting for steel. Late last week it arrived and is now up. There has been a two week delay in the project. However, there has also been a positive improvement in the weather and delivery of supplies. Staff are being hired for 5 open positions: 2 staff, 2 nurses, and a radiologist. They have been overwhelmed by interest in these positions and are excited by the quality.
The Women’s Clinic at 710 Division Street has the additional services of Occupational Medicine with Dr. Thomas Oas. The Clinic had a site visit by Blue Plus for managed care credentiality. It was approved for participation. The temporary clinic space at the Hospital will be ready August 1. It is undergoing drywalling this week. Dr. Melanie Dixon will be joining. A tour is scheduled for the next meeting.
On the Lakeville site, a site agreement has been approved by the Planning Commission and the City Council for 6.89 acres. Frauenshuh (the developer) has had a headstart on due diligence. The Hospital may have construction documents by the end of the summer. The Hospital requested right of first refusal on the rest of the acreage (up to a total of 10 acres). Lakeville has been very cooperative.
The Administrative Report indicated that $99,000 was made last month; $314,000 to date. Extra money has been required for demolition of the old hospital site. In-patient volume is higher, related to Medicare. Out-patient admissions lag behind last year. Roger Stapek reported the lowest accounts receivable in 25 years.
Ken Bank reported that the draft information from the Planning Retreat will be brought to the Board for approval. July 28 will be the next meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:13 p.m.
