HRRMC Hospital Sign. Photo by Carly Winchell.
The Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center (HRRMC) Board of Directors will next meet at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25. The focus topic for the meeting will consist of a “Just Culture” presentation delivered by Quality and Risk and Patient Safety Director Christine MacMillan.
But perhaps the major news is that current HRRMC CEO Bob Morasko has announced that he is set to retire after 11 years with the hospital. Morasko will stay on to help find and transition the new CEO.
The hospital employed less than 200 people and was operating in the red when he took the helm in 2013. Now the hospital is “in the black” and employs 800 people.
“Just Culture” Presentation
A “just culture” workplace environment is one that encourages people to report mistakes. Accurate reports and data allow systemic problems to be identified and addressed. The goal is to foster a sense of collective responsibility for improving processes, healthcare delivery, and quality and safety.
The “just culture” philosophy encourages asking how something happened and what can be changed to avoid it happening again in the future.
New Business on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting includes:
- An official notice of intent to hire a CEO replacement.
- A resolution to compensate the HRRMC Board of Directors and amend the bylaws for the Board.
- A Memorandum of Understanding between HRRMC and Places to Age
- A discussion to establish a special meeting date for the “parking lot discussion.”
CEO Bob Morasko during the photo op for the HRRMC Delnay Guest House groundbreaking. Photo by Carly Winchell.
The consent agenda includes approval of the May 28 HRRMC Board meeting minutes and several capital purchase items:
- Wound Care: Hyperbaric and Oxygen Plant – $1,496,603
- Expansion of Surgery and Gastroenterology Clinic – $1,083,034
- Two US machines from Mindray – $252,300
- Crack fill and seal coat – $44,182
- Two Endoscopy EGD scopes – $80,502
- Orthopedic Expansion Project: Desktop set up and exam room wall-mounted computers with signature pads – $20,540
- Buena Vista Health Clinic (BVHC): Painting refresh project – $40,860
- For discussion: West-side hospital expansion – $4,267,458
These capital purchase items total $7,285,479
The Board will adjourn to executive session to discuss several different issues:
- Medical staff credentialing
- The conscious sedation quiz
- Risk management and grievance reports
- Property negotiations
- Provider agreements
- Senior living
- The employee search process
The Board will then reconvene for any action if necessary.
Those interested in attending Tuesday’s meeting can do so in person in the HRRMC Shavano Room (1000 Rush Drive, Salida) or via Zoom using the following information:
Zoom meeting link: https://hrrmc.zoom.us/j/87415721857?pwd=1j6qVIy8wtiMqA6hY89TPjJKqAQwte.1
Meeting ID: 874 1572 1857
Passcode: 585306
One tap mobile:
+17193594580, 87415721857# US
+16694449171, 87415721857# US
No regular meeting is scheduled for the HRRMC Board in July. The next regular meeting is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 28.
Having been Chairman of the Board at HRRMC when we hired Bob Morasko, I can assure you that the hospital was most definitely not “in the red” at the time he was hired. It was doing quite well when the previous CEO, Ken Liesher retired after guiding the hospital through the transition to the new facility from the old site on First Street which now is known as the Touber Building
Dan,
Thank you for your comment.
The information referenced in this article was included in the Tuesday, June 25 HRRMC Board of Directors meeting packet. It appears on page 90 of the packet where a clipping of newspaper article by Mail Staff Writer Guinnevere Stropes is included.
That article states, “When Morasko took over the role in May 2013, the hospital was operating with a year-to-date loss of $435,776. . . Now in the first four months of 2024, HRRMC is in the green with $4,672,000.”
Well, apparently Ms. Stropes was somehow misinformed. The hospital had been in the black for quite some time after the management company,Quorum, was “fired” by the board just prior to the beginning of my tenure and the hiring of Nate Olsen as CEO. I suppose it’s possible Ms. Stropes was looking at a monthly financial statement because revenues tend to fluctuate from month to month, but Bob took over a very healthy (no pun intended) hospital when he came onboard.
Thank you for the information, Dan. I will look into this a bit further with HRRMC.