Howard Memorial Board Meets For May Session

The Howard Memorial Hospital board of directors were informed Tuesday night during a teleconference meeting that doctors with the satellite clinics were reopening and elective surgeries and GI procedures have resumed.

HMH CEO Debra Wright reported the hospital is transporting specimens to UAMS in Little Rock of any presumptive COVID-19 patient who is admitted to the Progressive Care Unit because UAMS offers the fastest turnaround time for test results.

Wright also reported the hospital has ordered three high-flow oxygen delivery systems to help prevent patients being place on a ventilator.

According to a report from infection preventionist nurse Gayla Hooker, HMH tested 328 residents for COVID-19 with 15 positive results. Five positive patients were admitted to the hospital and 21 persons are under investigation hospitalized pending test results.

Wright reported Dr. Sifau Oladipo signed her employment agreement and will begin on July 20. She is completing the family medicine residency program in Texarkana. Other clinic physician recruitment efforts have been put on hold due to the low patient volumes at the clinic.

The upgrade to the 16X MRI has been completed and Wright expressed her appreciation to area individuals and businesses including Husqvarna North America for donating personal protection equipment to the hospital.

Board members approved a motion to apply for funding from the Federal Communications Commission for telehealth initiatives. If approved, Howard Memorial plans to purchase a Banyan Telehealth Virtual workstation.

According to CNO, Alesha Collins, the system would limit the number of entries to the room of an infected patient, improve staff safety and increase the number of overall encounters because the nurse will be able to see and interact with the patient at all times.