Building Upgrades to Howard Memorial

Howard Memorial Hospital has made several recent upgrades to protect the investment made by taxpayers. Chief Executive Officer Debra Wright says flooring has been replaced in several corridors and the facility’s walls have been repainted. A quote to replace the flooring in the emergency department waiting room has been requested. New lobby furniture is scheduled for delivery September 30th. Chief Financial Officer Bill Craig says the expense is covered under spring and summer spending, which is looked at on a yearly basis to make upgrades to heavy medicare volume areas.

CFO Craig presented the monthly financial report at Tuesday’s meeting of the HMH board of directors. The hospital experienced a net income loss of $43,560 for the month of July, however had several success factors which included above budget outpatient visits and emergency department visits. Howard Memorial’s cash in bank exceeded $7.1 million last month. Employee health insurance costs totaled $38,162 below budget in July.

In other business, the hospital board discussed plans for an additional medical office building, that will initially be funded by the HMH Foundation. Earlier this year, the board approved the purchase of additional space in the specialty and surgery clinic building to expand Rehab Services. The building committee met on August 6th and the Home Health and Community Based Services staff presented the latest revisions for their space in the two story building. Wright says the building will also include additional clinic space, as all current clinic space is being utilized.

The board also reviewed strategic goals, including planning for 2020. Wright says they retained 2019 and added population health…which includes health education classes.

Denise Graves, registered dietician, presented information to the board. Graves was hired at the hospital as part of their strategic plan and has been on the job since early June.