EASTERN PLUMAS HEALTH CARE held its regular meeting on Thursday, June 24th. Human Resources Director, Lori Tange stated they are continuing to focus on new hires and currently have eight new hires in the process.
CEO, Doug McCoy reported for Chief Financial Officer, Katherine Parrish who was absent from the meeting. He said although patient revenue was under budget by $697,722 year-to-date through May 31, 2021, they managed to post net income in the amount of $3,013,884 as Intergovernmental Transfers came in over budget by $2,516,233 and have seen over the last three months a steady rise in patient revenues.
McCoy gave an executive summary to the Board and stated three-year financial performance trend report was presented at the recent annual Board retreat and reflected a 5.4% revenue increase and 13.4% net income improvement over the prior year. These improvements were inclusive of 800k in unplanned COVID related costs and various department hiring scale adjustments to improve access to staffing.
He reported EPHC completed contracting with Custom Learning Solutions for a three-year partnership for implementation of our ‘Ignite the Patient Experience’ initiative. A draft strategic implementation plan was initiated on June 10th and will be finalized to incorporate its activities during this process. Two key committees will be launched in July as part of their initiative. The Community Advisory Panel will provide operational recommendations from a seven-member team representing each of the EPHC service areas. The Service Excellence Committee will be comprised of both department and management staff across the organization to assist with strategy implementation, recommendations, and training to the organization on its 5-star initiative. Prior to their launch of this initiative in mid-May, they have seen a significant increase in customer satisfaction feedback through its new customer review process. The patient grievance rate has decreased by 90% in the second quarter of the calendar year versus the first quarter through the implementation of several initiatives including implementation of the Patient Experience Department.
McCoy said The Loyalton property purchase was completed at the beginning of June, and they are finalizing the design plans for the project. Contractor bidding will be initiated upon plan completion and they anticipate opening the project in June of 2022. Community feedback on the project has been extremely positive, and they look forward to continuing the relationship with the current tenants. The project will double the number of exam rooms and increase clinic offerings to the members of the community.
He added to meet additional community needs and position EPHC properly for the future they are also reviewing additional projects to include a permanent outpatient and wellness building, refurbishment of the IT/training area, and refurbishment plan for both the hospital and SNF units. Decisions on key legislation regarding the 2030 seismic requirements are expected during the summer legislative session, which will assist with their 3-year planning on these projects.
McCoy was happy to report in June all EPHC clinic locations initiated COVID vaccine distributions during business hours. All patients who have not been vaccinated are provided an opportunity to receive any of the three current vaccine offerings and receive education from the providers on the benefits of vaccinations in order to increase the community vaccination rate. EPHC has successfully vaccinated 2,249 individuals through 20 clinics held since the beginning of the year, and they anticipate these rates to continue increasing through the new RHC process.
Resolution 292 – Wellness and Therapy Building was approved unanimously. McCoy stated he hoped by the time they start construction there would be some stabilization in construction costs. Net income is right at $400,000 stating they wanted to make sure they were fiscally responsible before moving forward with the building, adding they feel there will be a strong return. They are planning on utilizing grant funds to offset costs. Projections in revenue are based on current staffing and will have the opportunity to add two more full-time physical therapists. He stated they’d received 19 new referrals that week.
Resolution 293 – EMR System Purchase was approved unanimously. McCoy stated the current system is sunsetting. The single solution product through Cerner continues to be the leading option based on the interoperability across all service lines. EPIC is a leading market system, however they continue to have challenges in identifying a third party organization to host the system for EPHC. Based on the required implantation requirement of a new EMR system (10-12 months), he recommended the Board approve the resolution to proceed with final review of the Cerner contract proposal by the legal department and sign an agreement to initiate the implementation plan.
LOYALTON SKILLED NURSING RESIDENTS ATTEND THE PARADE!
CEO, Doug McCoy reported for Chief Financial Officer, Katherine Parrish who was absent from the meeting. He said although patient revenue was under budget by $697,722 year-to-date through May 31, 2021, they managed to post net income in the amount of $3,013,884 as Intergovernmental Transfers came in over budget by $2,516,233 and have seen over the last three months a steady rise in patient revenues.
McCoy gave an executive summary to the Board and stated three-year financial performance trend report was presented at the recent annual Board retreat and reflected a 5.4% revenue increase and 13.4% net income improvement over the prior year. These improvements were inclusive of 800k in unplanned COVID related costs and various department hiring scale adjustments to improve access to staffing.
He reported EPHC completed contracting with Custom Learning Solutions for a three-year partnership for implementation of our ‘Ignite the Patient Experience’ initiative. A draft strategic implementation plan was initiated on June 10th and will be finalized to incorporate its activities during this process. Two key committees will be launched in July as part of their initiative. The Community Advisory Panel will provide operational recommendations from a seven-member team representing each of the EPHC service areas. The Service Excellence Committee will be comprised of both department and management staff across the organization to assist with strategy implementation, recommendations, and training to the organization on its 5-star initiative. Prior to their launch of this initiative in mid-May, they have seen a significant increase in customer satisfaction feedback through its new customer review process. The patient grievance rate has decreased by 90% in the second quarter of the calendar year versus the first quarter through the implementation of several initiatives including implementation of the Patient Experience Department.
McCoy said The Loyalton property purchase was completed at the beginning of June, and they are finalizing the design plans for the project. Contractor bidding will be initiated upon plan completion and they anticipate opening the project in June of 2022. Community feedback on the project has been extremely positive, and they look forward to continuing the relationship with the current tenants. The project will double the number of exam rooms and increase clinic offerings to the members of the community.
He added to meet additional community needs and position EPHC properly for the future they are also reviewing additional projects to include a permanent outpatient and wellness building, refurbishment of the IT/training area, and refurbishment plan for both the hospital and SNF units. Decisions on key legislation regarding the 2030 seismic requirements are expected during the summer legislative session, which will assist with their 3-year planning on these projects.
McCoy was happy to report in June all EPHC clinic locations initiated COVID vaccine distributions during business hours. All patients who have not been vaccinated are provided an opportunity to receive any of the three current vaccine offerings and receive education from the providers on the benefits of vaccinations in order to increase the community vaccination rate. EPHC has successfully vaccinated 2,249 individuals through 20 clinics held since the beginning of the year, and they anticipate these rates to continue increasing through the new RHC process.
Resolution 292 – Wellness and Therapy Building was approved unanimously. McCoy stated he hoped by the time they start construction there would be some stabilization in construction costs. Net income is right at $400,000 stating they wanted to make sure they were fiscally responsible before moving forward with the building, adding they feel there will be a strong return. They are planning on utilizing grant funds to offset costs. Projections in revenue are based on current staffing and will have the opportunity to add two more full-time physical therapists. He stated they’d received 19 new referrals that week.
Resolution 293 – EMR System Purchase was approved unanimously. McCoy stated the current system is sunsetting. The single solution product through Cerner continues to be the leading option based on the interoperability across all service lines. EPIC is a leading market system, however they continue to have challenges in identifying a third party organization to host the system for EPHC. Based on the required implantation requirement of a new EMR system (10-12 months), he recommended the Board approve the resolution to proceed with final review of the Cerner contract proposal by the legal department and sign an agreement to initiate the implementation plan.
LOYALTON SKILLED NURSING RESIDENTS ATTEND THE PARADE!
