Webb says problem has been identified and is being worked on

By Mary Alice Murphy

At the end of the Grant County Commission work session on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, County Manager Charlene Webb announced the law enforcement radio problem has been identified.

Gila Regional Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Brian Cunningham presented the first county report.

He said he would report first on the month of July's financial status. "We had a negative operating margin of $80,000, with a negative bottom line of $450,000. Those numbers are one of the justifications for the mill levy request. The depreciation number in that financial report is a major indication that we need to replace capital equipment."

"We still have 112 days of cash, " Cunningham said. "We are trickling downward, but we are still above average for a hospital of our size. We have no debt.

"Another contributor to the negative bottom line is the required electronic health record upgrade," he continued. "We are incurring significant costs, but hope to curtail those costs within several months. We have had to push the live date back again, but hope it won't be too much longer."

Cunningham talked about the caregiver survey that asked them to rate their engagement level with patients.

"The scale was from one to ten, with 10 the highest," he explained. "The question asked how each rated his or her self at going above and beyond in caring for citizens of Grant County. Ninety-two percent of our caregivers rated themselves from 6-10, with 80 percent rating themselves as a 9 or 10."

He also talked about the Healthy Hospital, Healthy Community initiative, which is to promote a vote in favor of a 4-mill tax levy on property owners.

"We are the last county-owned hospital in New Mexico," Cunningham said. "And most counties already give support to their local hospitals. I appreciate your help in getting the issue on the General Election ballot."

He said he is talking to community groups about why the levy is needed. "It will bring us about $3.3 million annually for capital equipment and building upgrades only. It is a 30 plus-year-old building, which needs upgrades."

"We will announce the expenditures in public meetings, like this one, so citizens know where their money is going," Cunningham said. "We have a backup in the labor and delivery area and the operating room area, which affects efficient use of the areas."

This funding, he said, would support upgrading the CAT scan and X-Ray machines, as well as replacing antiquated water piping and air handling units in the hospital building.

"Without these upgrades, the crux is if we can't continue to upgrade the equipment, citizens will be required to go out of the area to Las Cruces or farther away," Cunningham said. "We want to avoid that. We want to keep our 4-Star quality care as close to home as possible."

He said he would talk to any public groups and ask for support for the initiative. "Call me, email me and we'll set something up."

Commissioner Ron Hall said people were asking how much the mill levy would create in revenue for the hospital.

"Four mills gets us to about $3.3 million a year," Cunningham said. "We ended the fiscal year down $3.3 million, and most was due to depreciation. That's how we back engineered to determine why 4 mills was necessary."

'The four mills is keeping services we have intact, right," Hall said.

"Some of the funding will be replacing water pipes and equipment," Cunningham said. "If we don't keep up with the upgrades in equipment, we have trouble recruiting. Once that starts to happen, we will lose physicians and nurses to places where they have the equipment needed."

He explained that the operating room and recovery area is a problem, because the hospital has seven places for surgery, but only five recovery spaces, "so sometimes, we have to switch recovery patients into the labor and delivery area. The OR forces us to upgrade the building."

Commission Chairman Brett Kasten asked if Cunningham had spoken with Freeport-McMoRan.

"Yes, we have looked at decreasing state revenues," Cunningham replied. "Freeport understands we are one of the last hospitals to ask for this kind of help. We pledged to continue our dialogue."

Hall said a lot of residents are concerned about their taxes going up. "I highly recommend people learn why."

Detention Center Administrator Mike Carillo gave the next report. He said the facility has no vacancies, with three newly hired employees doing training for the job.

Carillo said the Inmate Support Committee would meet with the Las Cruces Police Department to learn about the development of a crisis team. "Fifteen volunteers will also attend."

The average daily population for the past month is 88, with 72 males and 29 females. "As of Sept. 8, we had 99 inmates in the facility. The average stay is 32.42 days, with an increase compared to last month. We have 27 probation violators, with nine waiting for transport. Transport has an average 30-day wait from sentencing to transport. The wait has stayed about the same."

Road Superintendent Earl Moore said his department has six projects going and three coming up for bid. "Four should be done by the middle of next month. With the rains dropping off, we will get to roads as we can."

Hall asked about Rosedale Road, and Moore said the project at the airport is slated to start Sept. 26, "then as soon as it is done, we will start milling Rosedale."

General Services Director Randy Villa said the airport project is expected to last five to six days. "Boutique will fly out of Deming, because the Grant County Airport will be closed to the commercial and private flights. We have called everyone who might be impacted."

He said the Corre Caminos fiscal year, because it is a federal program, is ending at the end of the month. "We will be under budget. I hope in October to have the director here to report."

Villa noted his staff is preparing the trails for the upcoming cross-country meet. He said the fires are down, with the rain, and many of the volunteer fire fighters went to training in Socorro to keep up their certifications in wildland and structure fire fighting. "Tyrone Volunteer Fire Department actually won a lot of competitions."

He said his staff is working on water issues at the Fairgrounds, because the fair is next week. "We are out there on a daily basis. And we're still dealing with weeds."

Community Development and Planning Director Mischa Larisch said he is working on rights-of-way and utilities for Tu Casa, plus an environmental review.

He said the county is advertising for the North Hurley Phase 1 project, with a pre-bid meeting Sept. 23 at 11 a.m. and bid opening on Oct. 12.

The LS Mesa bids have been received, and Larisch is preparing for the pre-bid for the Santa Rita fire station. "We are also looking at solar for county buildings."

Hall said he continues to be pleased at how dedicated the county staff is. "It is such a privilege to work with you guys. And now I'm going to ask about Wind Canyon."

Larisch said he has seen a draft of the RFP, but is waiting for another draft.

County Manager Charlene Webb said the auditors have been in the offices. "We got the final bid approval from the Department of Finance and Administration for inmate medical services at the Detention Center. We will release an RFP for a website in October. The Conference Center has reached substantial completion. We have a draft RFP for management services for the facility."

"And we are working with the Sheriff and Captain (Kevin) Flamm on the radio situation," Webb said. "The problem has been identified. We have a frequency issue with the El Paso Sheriff's Department. The department recently upgraded its equipment and the signal overrides ours."

To solve the issue may require requesting a new frequency, she said. The Federal Communications Commission is aware of the situation and is working with the county to help solve the problem.