The Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center (HRRMC) board heard about further steps to alleviate worker shortages and approved an updated 2022 budget plan and resolutions to appropriate funds and set the mill levy for the hospital district.
Lesley Fagerberg, Vice President of Fiscal Services said adjustments to the certified district assessments figures made the slight revisions necessary.
Budget and Mill Levy Approved
The board then approved the $120,682,692 budget and appropriated $1,086,521 to balance the budget and set a district tax levy of 1.672 mills per dollar of assessed value on all district taxable property.
The board heard an update on progress with the Solvista Health’s development of a mental health facility on the HRRMC campus from Brian Turner, CEO of Solvista.
Turner said the Regional Assessment Center construction is continuing to move along and briefed board members on some of the new programs being developed under a more integrated approach by the state towards mental health resources. He said the center was basically on time and under budget currently, but the impact of future supply chain issues was unclear.
New programs being undertaken include Promoting Hope; a suicide prevention effort for those patients at high risk; Project Spirit, an approach to short-term disaster behavioral intervention support for those in crisis; supportive employment expansion Lake and Chaffee counties and iMatter, a program to give every teenager three vouchers for telehealth help and treatment programs that can be expanded statewide.
Turner also reviewed four levels of service for the assessment center in the future, from acute short-term crisis level treatment to longer-term treatment for substance detox and mental health issues and ongoing recovery support.
Lesley Fagerberg, Vice President of Fiscal Services reported increases in service levels for the month of November, with net patient revenues at $8,357,491, compared with the budget estimate of $7,612,850.
The board also moved to appoint administrative assistant Juanita Ward a Designated Election Official in order to be able to cancel the regular special election for the hospital district set for May 3, 2022 in Chaffee, Fremont and Saguache counties, if appropriate.
If the only matter before the district voters is the election of board members, and if there are no contested races for offices filed by 63 days prior to the election, then the election official can declare the standing slate of candidates elected by acclamation and cancel the election.
Workforce Shortages
The board also heard updates on recruitment and employee retention efforts by Julio Nunez of Human Resources, who reviewed a new strategic plan for 2022 with a new data dashboard. He said 23 positions have been listed as ‘hard to fill’, and current open positions overall at HRRMC stand at 42.
Nunez reported for the period Dec. 6 – 17, 27 applications were received, and 19 interviews done, with 14 employment offers made, 12 employees accepted and were signed and two declined. He said a “hire to fit” approach has been used to process candidates quickly and allow them to assess other positions applicants might fill.
Aggressive monetary incentives have been utilized, he reported, from $500 to $3,000 sign-on bonuses and referral bonuses and that outreach efforts would also include outlets, such as online, typically favored by younger people.
After hospital capacity recently peaked at 95 percent, more recent patient counts have been closer to 50 percent, according to spokesperson Allison Gergley, Director of Marketing and Public Relations.
Fagerberg noted in her report that the hospital had nine COVID-19 patients on its highest volume day recently, and had several multiple virus patient days as well.
In other action, the board approved several capital purchase requests, including a ceiling lift track system for the Inpatient Rehab Department at $15,905; a USC Blade System Random Access Memory unit to expand the facility’s computer capacity for Information Systems at $17,299 and an ultrasound for the Urology Clinic to replace an aging unit at a cost of $33,147.
CEO Robert Morasko reported planning for a wound center continues, including contract negotiations with a wound care service provider and pricing for supplying oxygen to a hyperbaric chamber. Colarelli Construction is expected to have a cost estimate in January.
Morasko expressed appreciation to Peter Edis, Vice President of Business Development, for agreeing to stay to help with transition before he leaves for a hospital CEO position out of state.
He also thanked Dr. Harry Payton for coming out of retirement to assist with covering ENT patients and training a nurse practitioner to help with increased volumes. He stated patients, physicians, providers, staff “… and all who interact with Dr. Payton have nothing but positive feedback for him.”
Morasko also reported November was the busiest month on record for the Laboratory and third busiest of the year; “This is astonishing as November is historically a slower month,” he stated, noting six days during the month saw daily procedures over 900.
He also recognized staff for not allowing the COVID pandemic to result in limiting or curtailing services. “In spite of staffing shortages and high volumes, we have maintained most of our services and without significant delays,” Morasko stated.
VP of Patient Services April Asbury reported on expansion of negative pressure rooms and how the construction will mean less beds over two weeks. She reported flexing staff is being done to assure covering core staffing. Nursing has 2.5 apparent open positions with no applicants from outside the area to pick up staffing needs. Part-time, on-call staff has been picking up days to allow regular staff and supervisors to work nights.
Asbury also reported a Crisis Standards of Care for healthcare policy has been drafted for HRRMC. Such policies are often adopted to prioritize levels of treatment when facilities are overwhelmed, such as those impacted by surging numbers of COVID-19 virus patients.
Asbury added that a CT machine has been repaired, with two ‘traveling’ employees in place and recruitment ongoing with few applicants. She also noted that monoclonal antibodies expansion testing is being done with Chaffee County Emergency Medical Services.
The administrative reports also showed 91.3 percent of employees and medical staff fully vaccinated, with 8.7 percent of staff and employees unvaccinated as of December 15.
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