Hospital addresses key issues

By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

The Memorial Hospital of Carbon County board addressed the two prominent issues — an ongoing energy savings project and a new step toward remedying hiccups in hospital finances — at its meeting Tuesday night.

The energy-savings project involves a complete overhaul of the existing heating, air-conditioning and ventilation system, and hospital windows, as well as an update on the fire-protection system. Although the approximately $2.2 million project was under way, it is currently at a standstill as the board awaits approval of the architect’s heating system by the Wyoming Department of Health.

The board elected two officers to manage an energy-savings lease. According to a movement by the board, the positions should be filled by the board chairman and the chief executive officer of the hospital.

The lease is intended to manage the cost of the project according to laws that prevent boards from entering agreements to be upheld by future board members. For example, the 10-year payment plan necessary to cover costs of the energy savings equipment requires the equipment to be leased until full payment is received. At that point, the hospital may purchase the equipment in full for $1, said attorney Kermit Brown.

The question of implementing a pay-in-advance system for elective care is second on the to-do list. “We need to do it and do it well so we’re ahead from the beginning,” the hospital’s Chief Financial Officer Florence Kostic said.

As a nonprofit, the hospital must care for its patients regardless of their financial circumstances. By having patients prepay for care, the hospital is assured to see some reimbursement from its services.

Kostic said some hospitals have already implemented this and are seeing positive reactions from patients. By addressing payment prior to care, patients can undergo procedures with fewer worries, she said.

The hospital expects to face obstacles such as physician cooperation, accurate cost estimates and consistent execution of the plan. As prepayment gets ironed out, it will be gradually implemented across the hospital departments as each shows it can effectively execute the program. The obstetrics department has already adopted the plan.

In February, the hospital board plans to visit with new physician and surgeon recruits from across the country. Drs. Manual Ybanez and Dwight Frisbee, both surgeons, and Dr. Bruce Sobko, a general physician, should meet with hospital staff and the board when they visit Rawlins. A family practitioner from Casper has postponed his visit and Dr. Clinton Seger has opted to take a position in Billings, Mont.

The board discussed changes to the health insurance program and received input from those attending the meeting. It moved to hold its decision until employee feedback has been collected.

Dr. Duane Ables reported positively on the progress of training at the Southeastern Wyoming Ambulance Service. He said many emergency medical technicians should finish training in March. He also pointed out that time was beginning to run out for hospital financial assistance, which is scheduled to end in July.

Discussing the second leading cause of death in Wyoming, colorectal cancer, the board approved receiving candidates for testing with Medicaid reimbursements ranging from $400 to $750.

In its final business, the board approved several items including the completion of the mammography survey, a plan required for hospital bed use, the state-required hospital program analysis and integration, a cohesive abbreviation list as required by the state and the allied health policy. All of these were previously reviewed and approved by the medical staff and appropriate committees before coming to the board.

The next board meeting is set for Thursday, Feb. 28 at 5:15 p.m. at the hospital.