A (hospital) room with a view

A gift to the new Allen County Regional Hospital gave the family of the late Frank and Virginia Boyd naming rights to patient room No. 205.
On hand to bestow the gift in honor of their parents were Bob and Shirley Boyd, Houston, and Dwight Boyd, Toronto, Canada. Mark Boyd, grandson of the senior Boyds, was also on hand with his wife Patti, who serves on the hospital’s board of trustees. Mark and Patti live on the Boyd farmstead in rural Moran with their two daughters.
The Boyds also took advantage of a tour of the new hospital along with hospital trustees before their regular meeting.
Phil Schultze, construction manager with Murray Company, said the bulk of the mechanical and electrical systems are installed. Workers are still painting and prepping floors for the laying of heavy-duty linoleum in the surgery areas.
The air-conditioning is on to provide ideal conditions for the drying of finishes, Schultze said.
When queried, Schultze estimated about 200 have worked on the hospital’s construction in different capacities. Today, the work force is about 75, down from a peak of 110 employees.
“It takes a lot of work to pull it all together,” Schultze said.
Oct. 1 is still the “approximate” finish date, he said. 

TRUSTEES approved going with American United Life Insurance Company, a OneAmerica company, to manage the hospital’s deferred compensation plan. Formerly, employees had received such services in-house through Hospital Corporation of America.
The new plan will be as similar to the old as possible, said Ron Baker, chief executive officer. The hospital will continue to match an employee’s contribution to the retirement plan. Employees can receive a match of 3 to 9 percent of their income to the plan, with a cap of $17,500 for those under 50 and an additional $5,500 for those 50 and above.
“It’s a plush plan,” Baker admitted.
The match is determined by length of employment with the hospital, said Larry Peterson, chief financial officer. He gave himself as an example: After 25 years with the hospital, he receives an 8 percent match into an investment plan.
Employees must work at least 60 days to take advantage of the plan. At six years’ time they can withdraw their investment with 100 percent of the hospital’s match, and at lesser increments as the years decrease.
For an additional fee, employees can take advantage of professional financial services with AUL, Baker said.
The more employees who “roll” their current plans over to the new plan will be an advantage to both the hospital and employees by realizing lower management fees by the insurance company, Baker said.
The Indianapolis-based company was selected because it handles the accounts of government-owned hospitals on a regular basis, Baker said. “We’re a different kind of beast,” compared to the private sector, he said.

IN OTHER news, Baker said the hospital recently purchased a machine called a fluoroscopy arm that provides X-ray guided procedures used by surgeons. “It also opens the door to work more closely with a neurosurgeon,” Baker said. The new machine cost $135,000.
Baker said a “body box” used in pulmonary care also was purchased. The machine analyzes respiratory functions. It was “in the $30,0000 range,” he said.
Trustees approved paying $12,122.57 to Health Facilities Group for architect fees.