BBGH Trustees meeting short
The Box Butte General Hospital Board of Trustees meeting held Monday, July 27, only lasted 34 minutes due to the fact that no financial report was presented. The Finance Department is in the midst of financial review preparation, meeting with the hospital’s auditors for the fiscal year 2014-2015 audit report due in late August.
Most of the meeting was taken up with Chief Quality Officer Mary Mockerman’s monthly Quality Management and Safety report. She said the Nebraska Coalition for Patient Safety Matters monthly focus was on a patient handoff communication incident that resulted in a patient injury at a Nebraska hospital. Ms. Mockerman said contributing factors causing the injury were cascading workarounds increasing the chances for error; knowledge deficits of staff at the facility the error occurred; lack of standardized work and a deficiency of communication during handoffs and bedside report. She said staff at BBGH has best practices in place that would prevent such an incident taking place when followed and that the hospital is well on its way in developing protocol for bedside reports that allow patients to be part of their healthcare planning. She also reported the quarterly composite report for Core Measures, with Stroke Core Measures being added to the composite report this last quarter. Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections was also discussed, with Ms. Mockerman saying medical providers are focusing in on reducing the amount of time catheters are used. Doing so reduces the chance of infection. Physicians providing OB services are also focused on reducing elective deliveries prior to 39 weeks gestation, with no such deliveries being made over the past six months. Workplace injuries were minimal over the past quarter.
The Trustees also conducted the following business.
Chief Operating Officer Lori Mazanec (sitting in for vacationing CEO Dan Griess), introduced Phlebotomist Liz Jensen who was named July Employee of the Month. Also recognized was Chuck Frisch, CRNA, DNP, FAAPM, for being chosen as the 2015 Second Quarter Provider of Choice. She then introduced Kristi Ellstrom in recognition of her receiving the Nebraska Hospital Association Research and Educational Foundation Scholarship Award. New employees introduced to the board were: Callista Maniaci, Insurance Verification Clerk; Allison Gullion, EMR Tech; Alexis Luger, Hemodialysis/Water Tech; Sam Hudson, X-ray Tech; Hayley Laws, RN; Jeri Nyffler, Customer Service Rep; Elizabeth Pemberton, EMR Tech; Krista Davis, RN; and Hope Miller, Central Sterile Supply Tech.
After unanimously approving the consent calendar, the board heard a brief report from Chief of Staff Dr. Tim Narjes. He said the Medical Staff is focusing on making the credentialing process used at the hospital more efficient in order to speed up the procedure.
With Mr. Griess absent, the Governance/Strategy Focus was limited to Chairman David Briggs mentioning that a Rural Nebraska Health Care Network conference is coming up soon, and he asked fellow board members to consider attending as it provides an excellent opportunity to network with board members and administrations of other health care facilities in the area.
Ms. Mazanec provided an update on the new addition, reporting that a couple of issues had arisen concerning the demolition of Suite 2107. Asbestos was detected in the roofing material of the building, but that a company has been found that will safely remove the material. It was also determined that a major piece of the high speed fiber network used by the hospital travels through the building. A company has been found that can re-route the cable. Ground work is beginning in preparation for landscaping. Overall, the new addition project is still on schedule for the Grand Opening currently set for September 30, with departments starting to be moved into the new facility one to two weeks after.
Ms. Mazanec also informed the board that the Summer Employee Picnic has been scheduled for Friday, July 31 at 6:00pm at Big Blue Bay with hamburger and hot dogs to be served. She invited the Trustees to attend.
After unanimously approving all credentialing requests, the board entered executive session at 7:34pm to discuss legal matters. They re-entered open session at 8:15pm, with no action taken. The meeting was adjourned at 8:16pm. The next board meeting will be held Monday, August 31 at 7:00pm in the Alliance Room. As always the public is welcome to attend.
Box Butte General Hospital is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
