Alliance, NE- The Box Butte General Hospital (BBGH) Board of Trustees (Board) meeting was called to order at noon Monday, Oct. 30th, in the BBGH Alliance Room. This month’s agenda included regular items covering Quality and Information Technology updates, as well as a request for new equipment and the result of The Joint Commission Accreditation survey.
Chief Operations Officer Jim Bargen updated the Board on the status of the Building Blocks Playschool opening. All of the required inspections have been completed and were successful. The next step is receiving the Nebraska DHHS license. Once the license is received, Building Blocks Playschool will be open for operation. Bargen provided an Information Technology update to the Board. “Over the past month we have been focusing on the Building Blocks Playschool IT infrastructure and security systems,” Bargen said. “We also installed a door security system which will require visitors to buzz in. Staff will be able to see who is at the door before they unlock it.”
Chief Executive Officer Lori Mazanec requested approval for the purchase of an unbudgeted capital purchase. The request is to purchase an ultrasound machine for $223,905 that was previously budgeted for but is not in the current capital budget. “This was an urgent request from the previous year in an attempt to avoid downtime for the service offering,” Mazanec said. The Board unanimously voted in favor of the purchase request.
Mazanec happily shared with the Board that BBGH’s Joint Commission survey was successful and maintains the Gold Seal of Approval for Critical Access Hospital Accreditation. The next accreditation survey will be due August 2026.
In Governance and Strategy, Mazanec shared that BBGH was awarded the NHA PAC Pacesetter Award for a Critical Access Hospital in the category of Highest Percentage Over Goal. BBGH’s contributions came from department and senior leadership, and Trustee members for the Nebraska Hospital Association Political Action Committee to support those running for state office identified as recognizing the importance of health care in Nebraska.
New BBGH employees include: Jami Childers, Teacher Assistant, Amber Jacoby, MSN, RN, Nurse Educator, Cassandra Battko, RN, Staff Nurse, Myca Cantrell, Nurse Aide, Kulwinder Kaur, LPN, Staff Nurse, Sidney White, Teacher Assistant, Lisa McDermed, LPN, Staff Nurse, Gabriel York, HIM Scanner, Alexandra Gruber, Cardiac Rehab Tech, and Crystal Nordstrom, Lab Clerk. The Board also recognized October Employee of the Month Physical Therapist Abby Grosse-Rhode, DPT and Caring Kind Award recipient, Kate Horton, RN.
After entering into a brief Executive Session on a personnel matter, the meeting adjourned at 12:44pm with no action taken. The next BBGH Board meeting is Monday, November 27th, at noon in the Alliance Room. The public is welcome to attend.
