On Monday, June 26, Drew Memorial Health Systems Chairman of the Board of Directors Mike Akin called the monthly meeting to order.
Before the board got into hospital business, Akin invited board member Robin McClendon to come forward. Akin informed all who were present that this meeting would be McClendon’s final meeting a board member. She served for eight years, and Akin thanked her for being “a vocal member”. The members of the board presented McClendon with a crystal vase that was embossed with her service years and the names of the board members she served with.
“Thank you all very much,” McClendon said. “It has been a very educational experience, and I have learned a lot more that I ever thought possible about healthcare and how complicated it can be. It has been an honor to serve my community, and I thank my fellow board members for also continuing to serve the community.”
The board then approved the quality and credentials, as well as the minutes from last month’s meeting, and the special called meeting held a week ago.
The board then spoke with Tiffany Martin from TruBridge. There were several areas where DMHS saw improvement compared to April.
Chief Financial Officer Melodie Colwell gave the financial report to the board. She noted that the admissions seen in May remained on par with the numbers from last May. The case mix is down slightly, but that can be tied back to the number of Covid cases in previous months. As of now, inpatient surgery numbers are trending up, but outpatient surgery numbers are going down. Admissions in “Reflections” is up, as well as out patient numbers in all areas of therapy. The sleep center also continues to stay at capacity each month.
Colwell also said she had a draft budget to present to the board. The draft is based on numbers compiled from a three year average at DMHS. She noted that a lot of this is up in the air as no one can really say what happens whenever Baptist Health takes control, but the hospital should see an increase in collection percentage due to higher payout rates under Baptist’s contracts.
Chief Executive Officer Scott Barrilleaux gave his CEO’s report to close out the meeting. He went back over the previous month’s meeting and discussed the Management Plan and Sub-lease agreement that were approved during the called meeting held earlier in June. Later that same afternoon, the Quorum Court unanimously voted to approve these documents as well. Barrilleaux has been continually meeting with state officials to try to gain funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Barrilleaux also said that there have been many visitors in and out of the hospital recently. He says that he has been hearing a lot of positive feedback on the facilities and the effort the staff has been putting in.
“I take my hat off and commend everyone on the role that they have played,” Barrilleaux said. “We didn’t wake up with this financial picture without a lot of hard work inside these walls. Great job.”
He also said that the hospital continues trying to recruit another general surgeon.
The management agreement was scheduled to take effect on July 1, but there is a final hurdle that must be cleared. Consent from any and all bond holders must be obtained before the agreement can move forward. Currently the only bond holder for the hospital is the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA has said that they have recently had a large turnover in their legal department, and that they predict it to take 45-60 days to review and consent. With this being the case, Barrilleaux said the July 1 effective date is off the table.
“As soon as I know something, I’ll make sure you all know too,” Barrilleaux added.
With no further business, the board adjourned until the next meeting to be held July 24.
