GNMSS Alliance Rural Clinic Advisory Committee met June 23

The annual Greater Nebraska Medical & Surgical Services (GNMSS) Rural Health Clinic (RHC) Advisory Board for the Family Medicine and Specialty Clinics located in Alliance met Tuesday, June 23 at noon for its annual review and goal setting meeting, as required by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Present was Advisory Board member retired RN Linda Schneider. Also present were Abigail Vogel, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC; Steve VanNoy, PA-C; Brittney Bauer PA-C, Jerre Mount, PA-C; Clinic Manager Joni Sautter, RN; Marketing Intern Cali Cox; Marketing Brian Kuhn; Box Butte General Hospital (BBGH) Chief Ancillary Officer Scott Alwin, GNMSS Administrative Assistant Brittany Stull; and hospital CEO Dan Griess.

Mr. Alwin chaired the meeting and started off with a review of what has happened in Alliance Clinics since last year’s Advisory Board meeting.

He presented his ‘year in review’ report, focusing on the challenges and opportunities of the launch of the electronic records Centriq system developed by Healthland, a company that develops and implements Healthcare Information Technology nationwide. He said that while there has been a steep learning curve, the providers at GNMSS Family Medicine have been instrumental in giving insights on how to make improvements with the new system, allowing Heathland to make software improvements that are making the system more user friendly and efficient. “We launched that September 8, 2014, and Steve has been our champion on our provider side, doing a great job in assisting other providers in training, as well as providing feedback to Healthland for improvements.” Mr. VanNoy commented that the Centriq transition has been steadily improving, with Healthland being responsive to suggestions for improvements, implementing those improvements with each software upgrade. He added that he has locum tenens (an interim medical provider who fills in when needed at medical facilities needing temporary help) friend that has worked for many other facilities who commented that the Centriq system at BBGH was far better than other facilities he’s worked for. Mr. Griess commented he likes to use the analogy of using a smartphone for the first time. “You start out learning basic stuff … dialing, making contacts, text message, checking weather,” he said. “Then you learn intermediate things like downloading apps, and then advanced stuff like managing your data usage. It just takes time.”

Mr. Alwin was pleased to report that the GNMSS Specialty Clinics continue to expand. “We added Urology this year, bringing in three specialists from Steamboat Springs, CO,” he said. “Dr. Stacy Childs was the first Urologist to arrive, soon followed by Drs. Jamie VanOveren and Clay Pendleton.” The Urology clinic was quickly utilized by patients in the area. “I’d like to point out that all three are bringing high quality, excellent care to this institution,” he said. Mr. VanNoy echoed that, pointing out he thought they were “awesome. From the stand point of urology, this half of Nebraska has been short in that field for several years. I think they are going to have a great impact on accessibility in that field for those who need their care.” Mr. Alwin then gave a brief report on each of the other specialists. He gave a brief report on GNMSS’ Ear, Nose, Throat and Facial Plastic Surgery specialist Dr. Jay White out of Rapid City and his contributions to GNMSS, as well as Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine specialists Dr. Bryan Bomberg and Kevin Kolvereid, PA-C, both out of Steamboat Springs. Mr. Alwin introduced Ms. Vogel as GNMSS Family Medicine’s newest mid-level provider. “We’re very happy that Abby is here. We’re certain we’ve got the exact mid-level provider we need for practicing in Hyannis and Alliance.” He also mentioned that Dr. Jessica Ott, who has finished her Family Practice residency in Rapid City, SD, will be joining GNMSS in mid-August. She has indicated she would like to start an OB practice in the future as well.

The committee went over encounter trends at GNMSS clinics in Alliance, Hemingford and Hyannis. While encounter trends are down, mostly due to shortage of providers and scheduling issues, revenue from all three are up, especially from the clinics in Alliance. “As of April 30, the Alliance Clinic showed revenues to be 55 percent above projected budget for the month, and 22 percent above budget year to date, with expenses sitting only 2 percent above budget year to date,” Mr. Alwin reported. Total departmental contribution for the year stood at $85,495, compared to a negative -$328,192 year to date last year.

After briefly going over the new Chart Review Audit process the clinics have started over the past year, and why those Audits are important, he reported no significant changes had been made over the past year in the hospital’s Rural Health Clinic (RHC) Policies and Procedures manual, other than updating licenses and Drug Enforcement Agency certificates, organizational chart changes and other changes to keep it up to code. Ms. Schneider volunteered to review the manual, as RHC designation requires.

Mr. Alwin concluded the meeting by asking for feedback on changes that may be needed in the clinic to better service the public. Ms. Schneider mentioned she had heard some scheduling concerns due to fewer providers over the past year. Mr. Alwin said he is getting feedback from the public on the clinic automated phone answering system. “A few years ago, we were getting complaints about difficulties getting through on the phone,” he said. “We switched to the automated system to help with that. But that answering system created complaints as well, so we’re looking into whether we should have a live person answering the phones again.” Mr. Alwin then commented on the problem of access, saying a recent strategic meeting discussed that issue. While allowing that the smaller number of providers over the past year was a contributing factor (which should improve with the addition of Ms. Vogel and Dr. Ott), other factors that contribute to lack of access were identified and plans are being developed to address those issues.

The meeting adjourned at 12:46 p.m.

Box Butte General Hospital is an equal opportunity provider and employer.