By Mary Alice Murphy

The regular monthly meeting of the Gila Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees took place Friday, July 22, 2016, in the Board Room.

Newly elected Chairman Jeremiah Garcia opened the meeting. He said the new appointees to the board' Joel Schram of 1st American Bank, Mike Morones of Morones & Knuttinen, and Dr. Tsering Sherpa of GRMC'would start their appointments Aug. 1, as paperwork and training preceded their service.

Frances Day, GRMC Auxiliary president, gave her year-end summary of accomplishments by the auxiliary. Volunteer hours for the 2016 fiscal year totaled 16,997, which, if figured at the rate of $22 per hour makes these hours worth $374,000 to the hospital. A total of 1282 meals were provided to cancer and infusion patients. She said fundraising is a constant effort and the recent linen sale brought in about $1,000. Members also hold several bake sales a year, and they sell out within an hour or so.

"We are also working on recruitment of new Auxiliary members," Day said. "We will hold meet 'n' greets on Sept. 8 and 1o."

Chief Executive Officer Brian Cunningham highlighted the standardized reporting being put into place. "We are pulling in objectives and goals, so our strategic plans are updated every month.

Garcia noted that he had heard in the news about the number of patients per primary physician. "They said in New Mexico, the case load is 1100 per primary care physician. It was an eye-opener. I think we're doing better here."

Assistant Vice President of Administration Liana Ryan said her office continues to work on recruitment. "We will have an ENT (ear, nose and throat specialist) visit next week. We are hoping we can work out to have him come to our community."

Trustee Tony Trujillo asked about the Veterans Choice program.

Ryan said the hospital is in the initial phase of exploring the program. Cunningham explained that the program keeps veterans close to home for their treatment.

Chief Financial Officer Mike Metts said it would be a new payer for the hospital. "We would be looking at Tri-Care and exchange programs. The process to approve can take 60 to 90 days, with the credentialing and permitting. We want to be of service, but it needs to be reasonable."

Metts said if a person, such as a veteran, wants an elective procedure he or she will likely want to stay in network. "Of course, we always provide emergency room services to anyone."

Trustee Magdaleno Manzanares asked about the recruitment process.

"Our recruitment needs are based on our needs," Ryan said. "Our recruiter schedules a time for a visit. We link them with others in their specialty. We meet and greet with Brian and myself. We explain the models, whether they want to have an independent practice, be an employee of the hospital or in another practice. They meet with key stakeholders."

Manzanarez noted that sometimes they don't accept, but expenditures are necessary each time.

"We also have to entice them with a competitive salary," Ryan said.

Chief Nursing Officer Peggy White asked for questions on her report in the packet.

Trujillo said he noticed she would join the New Mexico Hospital Association Workforce Committee.

"I just got off a call with the association," White said. "They have questions on our nursing internship program. We think we've been successful. Of the six who stayed, we still have five. Six didn't stay because their spouse couldn't find employment. The NMHA is eager to know what we're doing and whether it might work for other rural hospitals in the state. It is a paid internship and is a bridge between their school learning and the real world. We work closely with Western (New Mexico University). The six that stayed came out of their (nursing) program."

Chief Operations Officer Jed Rudd said no major issues arose during the assessment testing of MediTech 6. "Next week we will go into parallel testing with the old system to work out any issues. We think Sept. 1 is still a realistic goal (for going live)."

Rudd, in answer to a question, said his department has defined the training standard for business ownership leadership for hospital directors. "It defines the expectations for what goes into the department and what goes out."

White noted the program has been helpful for nursing leaders.

"We are halfway through the first group," Rudd said. "When it is complete, we will go to the next group, then to the advanced program, which will start in August."

Garcia asked how the hospital was doing on the non-discriminatory regulations. Rudd replied that they have a new form telling people "we donG