Howard Memorial Hospital
The Howard Memorial Hospital board met last. During a portion of the meeting discussion centered around the 2022 year and what impact the opening of the Sevier County Medical Center will have for business here at the hospital. Vocal in the discussion was Dr. Hernsberger who felt the impact would be slightly felt but voiced confidence in Howard Memorial’s reputation as well as services offered. Dr. Glenn Lance agreed and made mention that the 1st area of the hospital’s business to be impacted would likely be the Emergency Department. Under the circumstances, however, Dr. Lance said having available care closer to those in Sevier County was more important than a small decline in ED business for Howard Memorial.
During the CEO Report Debra Wright informed the board that the Safe Haven baby box had been ordered and expected delivery was somewhere in the 6 week range. Wright also said that for the unit thus far $10,000 of the $20,000 needed had been received as donations. An increase in the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been seen as was expected. Wright said 2 nurses were currently out with the virus and reported that symptoms with this variant seem to be mild when compared to the Delta variant. It is also expected that in the coming week Omicron will account for 85% of positive COVID cases. With such the hospital continues to offer testing from 7am through 6pm daily.
Last, Wright informed the board that Howard Memorial would be participating in the Arkansas State Load Balancing Program which was developed to provide a more organized approach to patient transfers. In the past 2 years it has been particularly difficult to find hospital beds in other hospitals across the state for patients that need care which Howard Memorial may not specialize in. This program will use an app linked to hospitals across the state to show the need for a patient transfer. If a hospital has availability they can accept the patient and the transfer process can begin. Wright said she is hoping this will help expedite the transfer process so patients can get the care they need more quickly.
