A hospital committee expects to take steps toward the launch of a fundraising campaign for a clinic on the grounds of Allen County Regional Hospital.
Adding a clinic to hospital grounds has long been a top goal of hospital officials and trustees. On staff at the clinic would be Drs. Wesley Stone and Brian Neely, as well as specialists who deal in cardiovascular disease, orthopedics and surgery, among other things.
Preliminary estimates indicate a clinic could cost between $2 to $2.5 million. Its too early to know what sort of fundraising goal the new campaign would target, though.
The board had wanted to include such a clinic on the site when the hospital was constructed and opened in 2013, but the additional cost seemed formidable at the time. Since then, its been the top goal of the hospitals strategic plan, which trustees reviewed on Saturday.
In 2010, the Allen County Community Foundation started the Uniting for Excellence Capital Campaign to raise money for the construction and equipment for the new hospital building with an endowment fund to benefit the hospital.
With the help of committee members who took part in that campaign, along with the work of Traci Plumlee, ACRH marketing and development director, its a good time to start working on raising money for the clinic project, Jim Gilpin, chairman of the development committee, told trustees.
Still, Gilpin said, the process could take several years. The committee has spent the past two years laying the foundation for a campaign, and hopes to be organized enough to kick off fundraising efforts in 2019.
Physician recruitment
The imminent closing of Mercy Hospital at Fort Scott leaves some practicing physicians without a home base, and at least two are considering ACRH, Tony Thompson, CEO, told trustees. Dr. Larry Seals, an OB/GYN who had previously talked with ACRH about practicing in Iola, said he is considering ACRH. Dr. Ralph Hall, a surgeon, who practices at ACRH and Mercy, also is considering a full-time move to the Iola hospital.
IN OTHER news, the board:
Heard a financial report that September fell slightly short of budget in key areas, but still exceeded revenue by about $19,000. Both inpatient and outpatient visits fell short of budget expectations, but were offset by a Medicaid payment, an active retail drug program and a strong mix of payments from private insurance, lower volume of uninsured patients and fewer patients using Medicaid, Larry Peterson, chief financial officer, said in a report.
Learned that a switch to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas to provide hospital employee health insurance, rather than the previous self-insured program, had resulted in savings and consistency in the budget. Trustee Terry Sparks asked why the hospitals benefits were $215,000 lower. Peterson said thats in part because of the insurance switch. Were saving money going back to Blue Cross Blue Shield, as well as taking the peaks and valleys out of that benefit fund.
Set future meetings for the board of trustees at 6 p.m. Nov. 26 and Dec. 18. The trustees typically meet at 7 p.m. the fourth Tuesday, but that would put the December meeting on Christmas. The trustees also expect theyll need more time to review proposals from interested management companies. Proposals are due Nov. 16; the task force will meet at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 21 for an initial review.
