HomeMy WebLinkAbout20173319NCMC Board of Trustees
Regular Session Minutes
Monday, August 28, 2017
12:00 Noon
The Board of Trustees of North Colorado Medical Center met in Regular Session on Monday,
August 28, 2017, in the Richard Stenner Boardroom located at North Colorado Medical Center.
Dr. Carter declared a quorum and called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m.
ATTENDANCE REPORT
NCMC Board of Trustees: Dr. Susan Carter, Catherine Davis, Michael Simone, Brian
Underwood, and Sean Conway (Commissioner, non -voting member), with Larry Cozad,
Mark Lawley and Jason Yeater being Excused
Banner Health: Margo Karsten (NCMC CEO) -Excused, and Wendy Sparks (NCMC COO)
Staff: Ken Schultz (Board Executive)
Recording Clerk: Esther Gesick (Weld County Clerk to the Board)
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
NEW BUSINESS
1) TRUSTEE VACANCY AND ELECT NEW SECRETARY: Ms. Gesick distributed the resignation
letter from Larry Cozad, a copy of which is attached as a part of these minutes. It was MSC
(Simone/Davis) to nominate and elect Brian Underwood as the new Trustee Board Secretary
to serve the balance of the Secretary term for 2017.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
It was MSC (Davis/Simone) to approve the minutes from the July 31, 2017, Regular Session
meeting.
CEO REPORT or COO REPORT
NCMC COO, Wendy Sparks, gave the following report:
• Employees — The Annual Employee Engagement Survey is underway, with approximately
65% participation to -date. She also noted staff is now wearing the new color -coded
uniforms and they are receiving positive feedback.
• Financials — The NCMC operating income for July is $1.4 million under budget, which is
largely due to under -budgeted admissions and longer lengths of stay resulting from a
higher than expected number of acute patient cases. She acknowledged the expenses
were up, but salaries and supplies were well controlled.
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2017-3319
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August 28, 2017 NCMC Board of Trustees
COMMISSIONER'S REPORT
Commissioner Conway reported the County Road 49 project is on target to finish by
December, 2017, and it remains on budget. He stated the final segment of CR 60.5 and
Highway 392 will be done next year, and staff is currently in the process of acquiring the
necessary right-of-way. Work is also underway with CDOT for the interchange improvements
on 1-76. The Highway 34 PEL contractor will be presenting the first draft of the study at the
MPO meeting on October 5th in Loveland, and it should be completed by end of the year
which will improve the Highway 34 Coalition's ability to compete for federal funding. He
stated on September 19th the Board will begin the 2018 Early Warning Budget process, and
with a final assessed value of $9.34 billion, Weld County is ranked 2nd or 3rd highest in the
state. He explained the value is the result of a large residential increase which is $2 Billion
above past projections and offsets the decrease in oil and gas. Commissioner Conway also
addressed the recent addition of two ballot measures 1A and 1B concerning an amendment
to the Home Rule Charter to remove the County Council and add an Ethics provision. In
response to Mr. Underwood, he clarified the setting of future salaries would be subject to
Statutory provisions. He stated the action to place the items on the ballot seemed rushed
and he would have liked to receive more public input and suggestions for consideration prior
to making a final decision. He reported the Bright Futures Program has been transferred to
promotions through Upstate with an Executive Director and a seven -member board. He
explained $3.5 million is needed annually to sustain the program into the future, and this year
$1.5 million has been raised. He commented the program has not received the anticipated
support from the oil and gas industry because they do not need the tax credits and there is
still a need to get more of the residents engaged. He reported Upstate and the NOCO
Economic Alliance brought in four sight selectors from around the country and showed them
the area and then requested their feedback. They indicated: 1) quality of life is not relevant;
and 2) they need an educated workforce, with tax certainty, transportation, diversity, and
collaboration among jurisdictions. He learned the importance of marketing the region, not
individual entities, so they are successful in competing.
VISITATION REPORTS FROM AUGUST
PALLIATIVE CARE
Brian Underwood reviewed his report, dated August 23, 2017. A written copy of the visitation
report is attached as a part of these minutes.
CHAPLAIN SERVICES
Michael Simone reviewed his report, dated August, 2017. A written copy of the visitation
report is attached as a part of these minutes.
VISITATIONS FOR SEPTEMBER
Dr. Susan Carter (held over from July)
Mark Lawley (held over from August)
Catherine Davis
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August 28, 2017 NCMC Board of Trustees
NCMC, INC. REPORT
Ken Schultz announced he will be retiring in February, 2018, and hopefully, beginning in
October or November, there will be a successor with whom he can start training to gain
familiarity with the various reports, year-end audit, stock/bond portfolio funds, etc. In
response to Commissioner Conway, Ms. Sparks stated NCMC has a robust Public Relations
campaign, consisting of billboards, print media, social media and radio promotions. She
stated they are working to ensure employee satisfaction and engagement, as well as
expanding the Oncology and Radiology Departments and women and infant services. She
noted Banner is ranked among the Top 3 Providers in the country for urgent and ambulatory
care with free-standing facilities for imaging to avoid hospital costs. Mr. Schultz confirmed
NCMC's commitment to serve the entire socio-economic demographic, regardless of new
competitors moving into the local market. Ms. Sparks added there has been an
announcement that Banner Medical Group (BMG) is looking at compensation and other
retention incentives, but they are not seeing much transition in staff so far.
OTHER BUSINESS - None.
ADJOURN
There being no further business to come before the Board, it was MSC [Simone/Davis] to
adjourn the meeting at 1:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Esther Gesick
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August 28, 2017 NCMC Board of Trustees
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August 23, 2017
Re: NCMC Board of Trustees
Dear Board of County Commissioners,
It is with regret that I submit my resignation to the Board of County Commissioners as a Weld County
representative on the NCMC Board of Trustees. At this time I am not able to make the meetings on a
regular basis due to my current employment. I have truly enjoyed the experience and have learned a
great deal about our hospital.
I have appreciated the opportunity to serve on this board and would be willing to serve on a board or
commission for the County in the future.
Thank you for this opportunity.
Sincerely,
Larry H. Cozad
NCMC Trustee Report
Palliative Care
August 23, 2017
Trustee: Brian Underwood
Department Practice Manager: Carol Runge, LPN
Carol is a Regional NOCO Manager for both palliative care and hospitalist services.
What is Palliative Care?
Palliative care optimizes quality of life by anticipating, preventing and treating suffering. Palliative care is
appropriate at any age and at any stage of an illness, and can be provided along with treatments that
are meant to cure. The palliative care team is available to see patients in the hospital and in the
outpatient clinics.
Palliative Care focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain and stress of serious
illness — whatever the diagnosis. Providers in this area have specialized training in symptom
management, as well as the ability to help patients and families establish goals and stay fully informed
about their treatment options.
The Palliative Care Team works closely with the patient, family members and other healthcare providers
to:
Control pain and other symptoms.
Make medical decisions that match the patient's wishes, hops and goals.
Coordinate referrals to other resources as needed
Assist with planning of future care and treatment.
About the service at NCMC:
Palliative Care services were started at NCMC under the direction of Dr. Robert Fried in 2011. Dr. Janeva
Pankey took over the program in May 2016. Today the Palliative Care department consists of Dr.
Pankey, two nurse practitioners, a licensed social worker, dedicated PFS reception services and chaplain
services. It provides consultations and services throughout the hospital as well as outpatient clinic
services (co -located with Infectious Disease within the Specialty Care Offices — medical office building
adjacent to NCMC.
Palliative care patients are typically referred from hospitalists, oncologists and outpatient providers for
the purpose of helping with advanced directives, quality of care and coordination of decision making
with family members.
Palliative care is not hospice although hospice services may be considered a subsidiary service.
Furthermore, the Palliative Care clinic is not a pain clinic. Palliative Care providers are skilled in
counseling (working with families and patients from all beliefs and walks of life to enable them to make
health care decisions). From a medical perspective, they "do drugs well" — meaning that have are
trained to use the right drugs in the right situations to manage the patients need.
Staff: admittedly it is a small staff. They are very engaged in their work at NCMC with a strong, patient -
first focus. The team of providers work well together. They are supported by chaplains as well.
Palliative Care is a profitable business service. Patient encounters are billable services with most
providers as well as Medicare and Medicaid. Department volumes are currently around 40 individual
patients per month. But the staff also rounds on ICU and other inpatients through hospitalist referrals.
Palliative Care volumes seem to fluctuate with hospital censes. In addition to providing a source of
revenue, palliative care services also help reduce the cost of hospital care.
Growth Potential: The program is catching on and growing. Emphasis is being placed on education and
awareness so that area physicians understand the availability of locally available, palliative care services.
NCMC Trustee Report
Chaplain Services --Mike Simone
Name of contact: Chaplain Mark Weiler
History of contact: Mark been with NCMC 12 years. He used to be manager of the department but after
reorganization his manager is now Leslie Gann-Exner.
To be able to work in a hospital environment as a chaplain a pastor needs a master's degree in divinity and
four units of CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education), which will be described below.
Services Provided: Chaplain services. CPE—The educational program consists of between 300 and 400
hours and takes about one year to complete. It is an accredited program that has been in place since 1997
at NCMC. The students/interns help keep costs down by not having to hire another chaplain. They are
given a lot of autonomy fairly soon after beginning the program. The chaplains on staff feel their skills are
sharper because they're constantly teaching.
A typical day consists of performing rounds on all patients with a registered nurse, social worker and
sometimes physical therapist and a physician. They perform rounds three times per day. Some patients
request the chaplain through their nurses. There are an average of eight requests by patients per day. They
also attend pre -surgery visits at 6 AM and usually average about eight people per day. There is a PRN
chaplain available weekends and nights for emergency cases.
They will refer people to other organizations in the community when there is a need for further help. He gave
an example of "life after miscarriage" and a grief support group in the community he and his staff often refer
to.
Number of Staff: full-time and part-time and what fields: 1 full time, 2 half time, .65 administrative assistant
and .1 PRN chaplain. Shorter hospital stays have decreased the overall need for chaplain services.
Revenues/Budget: Their budget is about $180,000 per year. This pays for salaries and supplies. The
Foundation approached the community in 1993 to hire a chaplain --since the hospital wouldn't fund a
program. There is an endowment fund of about $1.5 million dollars managed by the Foundation. This
provides about $35K to $40K/year to be used for the clinical pastoral education, CPE, program. The
Foundation may supplement other costs for the education program. The Foundation also pays for many of
the 50 CEU's that are required annually by the staff to maintain certification.
Challenges/Obstacles/Requests: They would like a second PRN chaplain so the current person can take a
vacation and there would be someone to fill-in if the current PRN was ill.
What Would The Department Manager/Director Like NCMC Trustees To Know?: Chaplains are
interdenominational. They wanted me to share with the board that a chaplain and a pastor are not the same.
A chaplain has more education concerning other denominations and may delve into issues not necessarily
supported by the religion that ordained him or her. An example he gave was a Baptist pastor he wouldn't
normally baptize children --only adults. He shared a story of a woman who was a crack addict and left her
child in the hospital to die and he, at the request of hospital staff, baptized the baby. A pastor generally
lives within the constraints of their ordained religion and whose focus is to promote their religion and serve
their members. They are paid by their church/synagogue, etc. A chaplain is usually paid by a
company/organization and only discusses their religion when asked. Their focus is to comfort those who
may be ill, traumatized or in a military organization --regardless of their religion.
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