CUTLINE 1: Pictured are members of the HCMC Board of Trustees and partners at the new Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine that opened the first of February during a tour prior to the February board meeting.

CUTLINE 2: Pictured is Neely Ashby, Chief Nursing Officer, as she shares quarterly results on the quality measures at HCMC to the Board of Trustees.

Paris, TN – Henry County Medical Center Board of Trustees learned first-hand the last Thursday of February how the organization is continuing to grow to serve the community. The HCMC Board toured the newly opened Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine, which merged wound care services in Henry County to better serve patients. Lindsay Foust, DPM; Alycia Gibson, PA-C; and Sonya Clark, certified wound, ostomy, and continence nurse answered questions for the group about the new facility and services offered.

“The clinic has been open for about three weeks and on average we have seen over 20 patients a day,” said Charles Dyer, Chief Business Development Officer at HCMC. “Patients seem to like the new location and the process has been smooth with six exam rooms and a treatment room.”

After the tour, the Board convened their monthly meeting in the HCMC Board room with an administrative report from Lisa Casteel, Chief Executive Officer. She discussed regulatory news including the Legislative Day for Healthcare that both she and Dr. Scott Whitby, Board Chairman, attended. The main topic of discussion centered on Certificate of Need legislation. More can be read on the visit here: https://www.hcmc-tn.org/news/hcmc-ceo-and-board-chair-attend-tha-legislative-day-in-nashville/

Casteel also reported on the balanced scorecard and stated that the eight bed Progressive Care Unit would be opening sometime in March with a tour to come soon. Recruiting efforts continue with pediatrics and general surgery. Currently, an offer has been made to a pediatrician and two other candidates have interest in coming. Additionally, a general surgery candidate will be onsite sometime in March.

Additionally, Casteel discussed the visit from the Delta consultants and introduced the new Community Champion for the program, Gina Matlock. She provided their community health assessment with the group. The group will return in March to do their quality review and James Travis agreed to serve as the board member involved in the visit.

“The consultants were very impressed with us and our abilities,” said Casteel. “They mentioned that we have a very highly engaged management group and that already looking at our quality measures that we are doing very well as an organization.”

Financially, HCMC saw a better month in January with a consolidated month end of $58,196. Physician clinics have also seen an improvement, with better than budget and last year numbers. The board approved the financial report along with $641,812.93 in bad debt and $6,260 in capital equipment that included a wound care chair and surgical scissors for the Surgery Center.

Neely Ashby, CNO, provided her quarterly report on Quality at the meeting. She reviewed the quality measures for the organization, stating that we are still a three star facility, that our all cause readmit rate is at 3.33%, and we had no cauti infections or pressure ulcers during the last quarter. Safety rounds continue to be done which have seen improvement and will keep us prepared for JACHO accreditation, which our accreditation window is in March. HCMC is looking to submit for geriatric accreditation in April and will begin working on Pulmonary Rehab accreditation soon. Additionally, Ashby talked about the coronavirus and the hospital’s preparations around this regarding supplies and people being trained within the facility. Ashby was most excited to share the quality results for psychiatry because these measures have greatly improved over the past few months thanks to real time chart reviews. Lake Haven Behavioral Center has also seen improved census this month with all beds at times being occupied.

Casteel additionally did a managed services review with the board for our contracted services including radiology, emergency services, pathology, neonatology, hyperbaric services, and the Cancer Care Center. The board approved the report.

Also reported are plans to host a presentation from Lincoln Memorial University to discuss developing a rural residency medical program. The meeting will be Thursday, March 5 at 5 p.m. at the HCMC Diagnostic Center Atrium. LMU staff will be on hand to discuss the program and its benefits to the organization.

Casteel also announced the Lawanna Johnson, Director of Food and Nutrition at HCHC was selected as Department Manager of the Quarter and Twila Rose was selected as Administrator of EMS for the year for the state association. News releases on both awards will be coming and posted on our website soon.

Kelley Rushing was introduced by Casteel as the current Director of Physician Practice Management as well as the new Chief Business Development Officer when Dyer, the current CBDO retires on April 2. Rushing provided an update on the clinics and discussed the various clinic models that are being investigated to assist in financial improvement for the clinics. He also discussed standardizing operations in the clinics as well as consolidating credentialing and payment posting for the clinics. Eagle Creek Clinic now has a new provider, Samantha Davidson, PA-C, with newhours, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Walk-ins are now being seen at the clinic. More changes in schedules are currently being worked on. For more information on this, read the website article: https://www.hcmc-tn.org/news/hcmc-eagle-creek-clinic-announces-davidson-as-new-provider-starting-march-2/

To learn more about the growth at Henry County Medical Center, go to our website at www.hcmc-tn.org and read about all the services we offer to care for our community. The next Board of Trustees meeting will be Thursday, March 26 at 5 p.m. at Henry County Healthcare Center.

About Henry County Medical Center

Located in Paris, TN, Henry County Medical Center is a progressive, integrated healthcare organization committed to serving the healthcare needs of Henry County and the adjoining region. Including a 142-bed hospital and 7 other facilities, the medical center provides a variety of outpatient services, as well as inpatient care. Henry County Medical Center is a county-owned and operated nonprofit institution. For more information: www.hcmc-tn.org.