Winter 2006 - Rackcdn.com

Healthcare Financial Management Association
In This Issue
Winter 2006
Improvements in Customer Service
Bre LaFerla, Media/Promotions Coordinator
St. John's Regional Medical Center, Joplin
Improvements in Customer Service…………..1
The Changing Landscape for
Hospitals and Patients.......................................1
Letter from the Editor.........................................1
Letter from the President...................................3
Provider Spotlight—McCune Brooks…………..4
Letter from the Editor
By Shelly Hunter,
Hello everyone and Happy New Year!! I
hope you made some really great resolutions
this year, ones you can keep!!! Did anyone
make the resolution to take the CHFP exam
this year? Dee Dee Maples, Controller for
Cox Health System in Springfield is our newest member to pass this exam!!! Congratulations Dee Dee!!!
I always love the new year, a time for reflection and new beginnings! Speaking of new
beginnings, I have changed positions I am
now with St. John’s Regional Medical Center
in Joplin, Missouri. I am happy to be a part of
the system. You may remember reading
about them in the provider spotlight last summer.
I would love to hear from you, what you
like to read about, what you are interested in,
articles!! Please feel free to email me at
[email protected].
Don’t forget all the great seminars coming
up this year, both locally and nationally.
Please visit www.hfma.org and click under
the education opportunities to see the exciting
new courses offered this year.
Continued on p. 5
There are many ways to provide better customer service for
your patients and families. St. John's Regional Medical Center
in Joplin has developed an innovative way with the installation
of wireless Internet services for the convenience of patients,
visitors, employees and physicians. Now patients and visitors
get wireless access on their laptop computer through the “guest”
network. This FREE service is available throughout the entire
Medical Center, Medical Office Building and Brady Building
on St. John’s Campus.
Continued on p. 2
The Changing Landscape for
Hospitals and Patients
Bre LaFerla, Media/Promotions Coordinator
and Shelly Hunter, FHFMA, Director
Of Business Development
St. John's Regional Medical Center, Joplin
The December 19th issue of Modern Healthcare displays a
wide array of interesting statistics on the national healthcare picture. One of the most interesting was a shift in the number of
hospitals with a bed count fewer than 99 to the hospitals with a
bed count of over 200*. With managed care and governmental
reimbursement on the decline, many of these smaller facilities
can’t afford to stay in business.
This could be one of the reasons so many larger facilities are
finding themselves reaching capacity and having to increase facility size. The construction costs for hospitals rose $1.8 billion
from 2002 to 2003 and is on the increase*. As of September
2005 the four-quarter construction starts totaled $20.1 billion
dollars*.
Although, this is hard on facilities financially, it is really
wonderful for the patients. As hospitals are growing and expanding, they add state of the art rooms and technology to better
care for their patients.
Continued on p. 2
Customer Service Improvements
Continued from p. 1
Example: A patient can use his/her
own wireless-enabled laptop to connect
to the Internet and keep up on e-mail
from their hospital bed.
Example: A visitor can use his/her
own wireless-enabled laptop to connect
to the Internet while in the cafeteria or
the waiting room.
“This is a great service for our patients and visitors. Now they can check
e-mail and correspond with family outside the hospital,” says Bob Honeywell,
Director of Technical Services for St.
John’s. “Can you imagine the opportunities in our birthing center with this technology? Now you can let family know
the minute a mother delivers. It’s a lot
easier to send out a mass e-mail, than to
call every family member.” This technology allows St. John’s patients to be
connected to family members, when
they can’t physically be there.
If you would like to know more
about this service to possibly implement
in your facility, you may reach Bre at
(417) 625-2260.
A c c e le r a te C a s h F lo w … .
S e ll y o u r n o n - p e r f o r m in g b a d d e b t
a c c o u n ts f o r C A S H :
• A ft e r y o u r c o lle c tio n a g e n c ie s
w o rk th e a c c o u n ts
• M a i n t a in y o u r r ig h t t o r e c a ll
a c c o u n ts
• N o r e c o u r s e to h o s p it a l
• S p e c ia liz e in H e a lt h c a r e
• R e f e r e n c e s a v a ila b le
F o r in fo r m a tio n c o n ta c t:
L is a M . H a u g
R e g io n a l A c c o u n t D ir e c to r
S E N E X S e rv ic e s C o rp .
w w w . S e n e x C o .c o m
(3 1 4 ) 8 4 3 - 6 6 1 9
H a u g L M @ S e n e x C o .c o m
Changing Landscapes, continued from page 1
One example of a great construction plan is that of St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Missouri, where construction is now underway on a major Bed Tower Renovation project. The 4th, 5th and 6th
floors are being remodeled to create a more comfortable environment for the patients and medical staff.
The Bed Tower Renovation project is the first phase of an eight-year, $60 million Master Facility Plan.
Phase I is expected to be completed by June 2006.
J.E. Dunn Construction, based in Kansas City, MO is the general contractor for the project. Crews have
been working since the fall on the first set of 18 rooms, now complete. Construction is being done in
phases to limit congestion and any inconveniences for patients, visitors and employees.
Plans for the update include the following:
*
Decentralization of the nurses’ station for point of care and paperless medical records.
*
Renovation/standardization of all core areas
*
Upgrade of finishes (flooring, paint, etc.)
*
Accessibility of bathrooms
*
Mechanical/electrical upgrades
This type of new technology and attention to care is helping the trend in reducing mortality rates. As
our ages and lives longer, it is wonderful that newer, patient-friendly facilities are being built to better
serve the mission of healthcare.
Source: Modern Healthcare, December 19, 2005; “By the Numbers”
2
Letter From the President
By Terri G. Winning
President
Theresa G. Winning, FHFMA
Dear Show-Me of Missouri Members:
It’s 2006! I cannot believe it. Just imagine, six years ago we
were busy dealing with the Y2K issues that didn’t bring the world to its
knees as predicted. At least most of those headaches are gone! Now, on
with the New Year.
President-Elect
As my second Presidential term (it sounds too official, doesn’t
it?) of this great chapter begins to wind down, I’d like to take the opportunity to brag about the education Show-Me makes available to its members and non-members. Over the last year there have been classes at the
local level covering: Accident Injury, Patient Account Reimbursement,
Getting the Most From Your Revenue Cycle Vendors, Missouri Medicaid Update, SNF PPS and Consolidated Billing, Medicare Therapy in
Motion, Best Practices in Key Financial Metrics, Latest Financing
Trends for Rural & Community Hospitals, HIPAA, Capital Improvements and Funding, Chip's Implications for Providers, CDM, investment
options, Integrating Revenue Cycle and Supply Chain Management and
on and on. You see, there is a lot of education being offered and we all
need to make the time to take advantage of the lower costs of attending a
more local event. After all, we are the ones responsible for the fiscal viability of our organizations – in one way or another we must learn.
Stephanie D. Fennewald, CHFP
Our members who take advantage of these and other regional and
national opportunities have logged more than 2,300 hours of education,
an average of 10+ hours per member – so far!
And there’s more……. The partnership established with TriSpan
has been working very well for the chapter and our members and nonmembers alike, and I believe TriSpan as well. Upcoming sessions include topics on Ambulance, Medicare Basics, Medicare Advanced, Critical Access Hospitals, and Cost Reporting.
Mark your calendars for what is left to be provided locally this
Spring and Summer. Check our website at www.hfmashowme.org for a
schedule of meetings or if you have any questions, contact Stephanie
Fennewald at: [email protected].
Have a great 2006.
Amy J. Michael
Vice President
Secretary
Donna Bruemmer
Treasurer
Jim Crawford
Director
Stephanie C. Weis
Director
Angela L. Richmond, MBA
Director
Dale Kroger
Director
Greg Johnson
Director
Dan Probstfield
Director
David Bokinsky
Terri
Theresa G. Winning, FHFMA
For additional contact information on
officers please go to the chapter Web
site, www.HFMAshowme.org
3
Provider Spolight………….
McCune-Brooks Hospital
In late 1892, a branch of a nationwide charitable organization known as Faithful Circle of King's Daughters was
organized for the purpose of raising funds for the construction of a Carthage community hospital. During this organization period, Dr. Robert F Brooks established a trust that,
following the death of himself and his sisters, all his property would be converted to construction and maintenance
of a hospital for Carthage. During this period of time, a
non-profit corporation was formed, known as the Carthage
Hospital Association. In 1903, an anonymous gift was
made to the Association in the amount of $10,000, which
6
was to specifically be used for the construction
of a hospital. Later it was learned that Lizzie A
McCune left those funds as a memorial to her
son, Dr. T.E. McCune, who was an associate of
Dr. Brooks. Mrs. McCune, acting as a major
impetus for the Carthage Hospital Association
contracted for a hospital facility to be constructed near the corner of Centennial and Forest. The first patient was admitted to the Carthage Hospital on May 1, 1907.
McCune Brooks Hospital serves patients primarily from the counties of Jasper, Newton,
Barton, Greene, and Lawrence. The medical
staff includes family practice physicians, surgeons, and other specialists. Our staff is made
up of physicians, whose primary practice is in
Carthage, as well as physicians who maintain
an office in both Carthage and Joplin. An emergency room with 24-hour physician coverage is
available for those patients who need urgent
care due to illness or injury.
McCune-Brooks Hospital is governed by sevenmember Board of Trustees appointed by the
mayor of Carthage. The Board of Trustees meet
on a monthly basis to conduct business and
members serve without pay.
McCune-Brooks provides the following services:
10-Bed Geriatric Psychiatric Unit
Inpatient/Outpatient Surgery
Sleep Scan Lab
Physical Therapy
General Surgery
Cardio-Pulmonary Rehabilitation,
Pulmonary Services
Palliative Care
Laboratory
Radiology Services
Community Education Classes
Generations: Special Care for Older Adults
Support Groups
Diabetic Education
Emergency Medical Services
Home Health
McCune-Brooks Health Care Foundation
Social Services
Carthage Ambulance
McCune-Brooks began construction on
a $47 million replacement facility in November
2005 with an expected completion date of NoContinued on p. 5
Special Thanks to our
2005-2006 Sponsors:
Gold
•
BKD, LLP
•
Missouri Medical Collections
•
Sentex
Silver
•
Berlin-Wheeler, Inc. Accounts Receivable
•
Healthcare Financial Resources,
Inc.
•
Healthlink
•
HumanArc
•
Outsource Group
•
Remote Support Services, Inc.
Bronze
•
Account Resolution Corporation
•
Account Management Services
•
D-MED Corporation
•
Faber & Brand, L.L.C.
Attorneys at Law
•
Healthcare Insights, L.L.C.
•
Sure Decisions, Inc.
Letter From the Editor
continued from p. 1
The show-me chapter will also have some
educational offerings, so stay tuned!! It is a
great way to network with other professionals in your field and learn how other systems do things.
Have a great 2006!!
Shelly
Provider Spotlight…..continued from page 5
vember 2007. The new 143,000 square foot facility will be located along Highway 71 just south of Carthage on a 34 acre site.
The hospital anticipates growing into the 56 bed capacity of the
new building with the addition of obstetrics and inpatient rehabilitation, services not currently being offered at MBH.
The building site contains a 4 acre pond that has been incorporated into the landscape of the hospital as the healing properties
of water will be a major element in the design of the building.
Patient rooms will be built to allow patients and visitors to view
the pond and exterior scenes. The interior of the building will
feature a stream that will flow through a courtyard and connect
with the pond. Improved access to Emergency Services, a better
layout of Outpatient Surgical Services and state of the art surgery suites are some of the highlights in the new hospital. The
one-story building is planned to make it easier and more inviting
for our guests to allow MBH to serve their healthcare needs.
In August 2005, MBH was granted Critical Access Hospital status. This change allowed McCune-Brooks to offer all
private patient rooms in Med/Surg areas. We continue to also
offer geriatric psych services in a 10 bed unit.
7
Show-Me Chapter Newsletter
4940 N. 21st St.
Ozark, MO 65721-7481
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