Trustees of Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center met Thursday, Feb. 19, approving policy updates, receiving financial reports, and discussing ongoing funding and staffing matters.
Board Chair Bruce Mullen called the meeting to order, and trustees approved the agenda, including the addition of a second executive session. The board entered a 15-minute executive session and discussed extending the first session to 30 minutes before resuming open session at 12:30 p.m.
Trustees approved minutes from the previous meeting, as well as the hospital’s risk management and compliance reports.
Mueller reported the facility is awaiting the release of $1.2 million in congressional funding intended to support rural health initiatives. Administrators said they will begin work associated with the funding once it is released. Communications Officer Pam Morris explained that the funding was going to be used to convert unused space in the hospital for more outpatient procedure space.
It was also announced that Dr. Andrew Gaut, an Ear, nose and Throat (ENT) specialist, will be joining the hospital staff in August. Dr. Gaut has 16 years of experience in the field. An open house and ribbon cutting are scheduled for Wed. February 25th at 4 pm for the hospital’s new Automated Breast Ultrasound, also known as ABUS.
Chief Nursing Officer Jennifer Newton reported six new graduate nurses have been hired. After the upcoming staffing changes, the hospital expects to be down four nurses overall. Newton also said an onboarding and skills fair for staff is planned for the end of March.
Hospital CEO Wendy Bazil presented several policies for board approval, including updates to the grievance policy, medical staff bylaws, rules and regulations, and credentialing procedures. Officials said most changes were procedural and formatting updates designed to align with regulatory standards and make documents more user-friendly. Trustees approved the policy updates.
Chief Financial Officer Morris Brown told trustees that the January financials are considered interim, noting that transactions from the prior month and year are still being reconciled. Brown said the hospital did not meet revenue targets but offset the shortfall by controlling expenses, resulting in stronger net operating income than anticipated.
“We did not perform to the budget,” Brown said, adding that the hospital’s audit firm was on site during the week and an audit report is expected within 60 days, with a full presentation planned for May.
When asked about February projections, Brown said it is too early to determine final results but noted collections per business day appear stronger. He said he is “optimistic” about February’s performance.
Brown also addressed a reported spike in bad debt, explaining the increase reflects accounting adjustments between provisions for bad debt and actual writeoffs. He said the net effect of those estimates is reflected on the income statement and that a deeper financial review has been a priority this year.
