HCHC awards office remodel project to local contractor

By Bryce Kelly, Mt. Pleasant News

Another construction project at Henry County Health Center (HCHC) will now begin thanks to a project bid approval made during Tuesday?s HCHC Board of Trustees meeting.

During their regular monthly meeting, HCHC trustees approved Jean C. Wiley Construction as the official contractor on a remodeling project for Dr. Reed Bouchey?s office. The cost of the work was originally estimated at $118,000.

?We received a bid from Wiley?s for $113,000, which is actually less than what we budgeted for, which is great,? said HCHC CEO Robb Gardner.

Gardner said the work, which is mostly cosmetic, is expected to begin in about a month and should not interrupt the office from seeing patients.

Moving on to other items, the bulk of the rather short monthly meeting was spent reviewing a financial benchmark report from the Iowa Hospital Association. As the report showed, HCHC and other critical access hospitals in the state now have to adjust to the changing standards in Medicare and Medicaid payment processes, among other changes in the ever-evolving world of healthcare. According to both Gardner and HCHC CFO Dave Muhs, while HCHC is still performing average or above average in many financial categories, the health center is still trying to make changes for the positive in regard to their monthly finances.

?We are aware of the challenges critical access hospitals are facing right now. The rate of closures of critical access hospitals in the state has seen a growth, and while we are not in danger of that, we do want to be sure we are meeting some of these challenges strategically,? said Gardner.

Muhs added that what happens in state and federal legislatures does affect the health center, and staying on top of those events is crucial to the success and management of the health center.

?It?s a tight rope we are all walking right now,? said Muhs. ?The key is how do we reduce expenses, but continue to enhance the quality of services we provide here? It?s a constantly changing thing.?

One particular area that Gardner cited as a current challenge at the health center was the increasing number of patients visiting the emergency department. By law, the health center is required to treat any patient that presents at the emergency department regardless of their ability to pay. To meet this need, HCHC has increased the number of providers working in that department, while also trying to offer competitive wages for their medical providers as a whole.

?Next month, our strategic planning committee should have a plan to present to you as a board where we will be able to go over some of these challenges, but also some of the things we have seen an improvement in,? Gardner said. ?As Dave (Muhs) said, we want to continue moving in a positive direction and meeting these challenges with a well thought-out plan.?

In other board business, trustees approved Karoleen Hammel to serve as privacy officer. Patrick Waters, HCHC Director of Information Technology, has been serving in that role for several months and will be handing those duties over to Hammel. The position is not a full-time role, but will be added to Hammel?s regular duties.

The board of trustees will meet again in regular session on Tuesday, May 16, at noon in the HCHC Board Room.