Thirty years Allen County Hospital trustees yielded the reins of control to outside corporate. Now, they want it back.
By a unanimous vote, trustees agreed Tuesday night to terminate the lease with Hospital Corporation of America as of Dec. 31. HCA will be retained to provide management services, including its benefits program for hospital employees.
The financial responsibility of the hospital, however, becomes that of the county’s.
For the past 18 months the seven-member board has put its main focus on building a new hospital. Now added to their plate will be the intricacies of health care and how to make it profitable.
Board members are Karen Gilpin, Debbie Roe, Jay Kretzmeier and Tom Miller of Iola; Sean McReynolds, Humboldt; Patti Boyd and Harry Lee, of Moran. Lee serves as trustee chairman.
CERNER of Overland Park is leading among four other vendors to be the electronic health record system for the hospital.
Cris Rivera, ACH chief executive officer, gave a detailed report of a committee’s investigation of possible providers. The goal is to be “paperless” by the time staff moves into the new hospital a year from now.
Trustees gave Rivera and her crew permission to “go to the next level” with Cerner to see if it would be a good fit.
Costs of the system ranged from $1.7 million to $3.26 million, “but everything is negotiable,” Rivera said. The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act mandates an electronic record system be implemented in hospitals.
Of its peers, Allen County Hospital lags in its implementation of the electronic system largely due to its imminent break with HCA.
By now, the staff is “primed and ready to go, making for a smooth transition,” said Patti McGuffin, nursing director.
“No one is dragging their feet. They feel this is long, long overdue,” said Larry Peterson, chief financial officer.
A RETREAT to develop a mission statement will be June 30. Hospital trustees as well as selected members of surrounding communities will work with Terry Woodbury of Public Square Communities, Inc.
Trustees also approved a bill of $390,599 to Murray Construction, general management contractor for building the new hospital.
