[Editor's Note: This is the first of two articles from the GRMC Governing Board meeting on Jan. 26, 2023.]

By Mary Alice Murphy

The first actions by the Gila Regional Medical Center Governing Board included welcoming Eloy Medina to the board, as well as deleting two items from the agenda that were not ready for approval and will be brought up in future meetings.

Under public input, Dana Hessel, pharmacy director, said he had some concerns. "But first of all, I would like to commend the wonderful progression we have made at the Pharmacy Department with the major projects we have done during the two years I've been here. I've initiated contract pharmacy services; I've initiated PIXIS CS conversion; we've also start Nursing Processing and development of staff."

"My concerns now are HR (human resources) is not taking things correctly," he continued. "And that we have people who are putting in negative input anonymously. It is very negative to the community; it is very negative for me. I have conveyed that matter to you. Do I need to let the other board members know? I know that it is not a question-and-answer session during public input. I don't think the complaints re being taken seriously."

Hessel said the 340B program is in dire straits. "If HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) were to do an audit, the program would fail for non-compliance. There was a survey done in August. I submitted seven items and there are still four to be submitted. I think we let the train run away. I would be glad to discuss the issue with you in executive session, because it involves a C-suite person. I think the evaluations of people have been vindictive, and I think HR is used as a tool rather than taking corrective measures. We want to fix this hospital. If any of you would like to contact me personally, I would be happy to talk to you. There are things to talk about."

The members then went into executive session.

After the executive session, they came back into open session and the first item of business addressed the credentialing that had been detailed to them in the close session.

Board members approved the credentialing.

The next item addressed the annual Open Meetings Act, which lists the requirements for noticing meetings. Members approved it and the following item, which set the regular and executive sessions of the Governing Board for 2023.

The members considered GRMC policies for project pre-approval, procurement and contracts. Chief Financial Officer Patrick Banks said the policies impact the entire hospital. "These policies provide the needed structure. I commend the directors for doing without it, but this is the next step to improvements." Members approved the policies.

A resolution rescinded the professional services agreement approved in October with Dr. Michael Durando. Interim Chief Executive Officer Greg Brickner said the hospital is reviewing it on a continuing basis, and "we hope to have a replacement PSA in February for Dr. Durando." Members approved the recission.

Next came a nurse practitioner employee agreement for oncology services with Alan Cheverine, APRN-CNP. Brickner said Cheverine will relocate to Silver City and will be in the Cancer Center to create a backup for and a pathway for Nurse Practitioner Karen DeGenevieve to ultimately retire. Members approved the agreement.

Also considered was a professional services agreement of "Fee for Time Compensation" for Dr. Maximus L'Amour for general surgery. Brickner explained that it was for backups, if another general surgeon took a vacation or leave of absence. Dr. L'Amour would be able to come in and help provide call coverage for the emergency department."

Members approved the agreement.

The following item addressed the consideration of amendments to professional services agreements for on-call coverage for several physicians, including Dr. Michelle Diaz and Dr. Victor Nwachuku for OB/GYN; Dr. Laurence Gibson, Dr. Frederick Wendler and Dr. James C. Rosser III for general surgery; Dr. Brian Robinson and Dr. J. Robert Carreon for orthopedic surgery; and Dr. Gregory Koury for pediatrics.

Members approved the amendments.

The next item addressed a hardware purchase and service agreement with RaySearch for the Cancer Center. Brickner said the agreement continues coverage for the linear accelerator and keeps it calibrated. Members approved the agreement.

The board also approved the correction to amendment No. 1 to an agreement with professional radiology services provider Imaging Associates of New Mexico LLC. Brickner said the agreement improves the contract with the hospital.

The following agenda item addressed a software license purchase agreement with PC Connection for Microsoft Office 365 and Azure Active Directory. Banks said the software is used in every competitive hospital, and "we like Microsoft products. The agreement is for one year."

Members approved the agreement.

Also considered and approved was a software license purchase agreement with PC Connection for Microsoft Windows 10 licenses. "We got a good deal," Banks said.

Banks also addressed the next item, which was consideration of the Vizient Group Purchasing Organization amendment to the master services agreement and scope of work for group purchasing services, and the channel partner agreement. "We use Vizient for most of our purchases. They are a solid GPO. The product is the important part of procurement, and this provides code compliance."

Members approved it.

The board also approved the first amendment to an agreement for accounts receivable management services with Revenue Enterprises LLC. Banks said this groups helps the hospital with collections. "They are very receptive to feedback and make collections as appropriate as possible."

The last item of new business addressed an additional scope of work for the Meditech Expanse to the master service agreement with Tegria Services Group-US, Inc. Banks explained it was under their existing contract with Tegria. "We're going to Meditech Expanse, which is an excellent product. The company will continue with the hospital's installation of the program for months of training and help."

The members approved it before going on to the reports and updates from the hospital leadership. They will be covered in a following article.

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