Hospital rooms getting complete makeover

Great River Medical Center is giving facelifts to its inpatient rooms.

In his report to the Mississippi County Hospital Board, Monday, hospital system CEO Chris Raymer said rooms 244 and 245 have been renovated, with plans to upgrade the aesthetics of other rooms as well.

“Two at a time, we’re going to start remodeling our inpatient rooms,” Raymer said. “They are really dated.”

Having already improved the aesthetics of the main floor and hallways, GRMC is redoing the floors, walls, ceilings and bathrooms of the inpatient rooms, including replacing tubs with showers.

“We’re happy that they turned out the way they did,” Raymer said.

Mississippi County Hospital Systems COO Paul Peiffer added the work took about a week.

“They look really nice, and they’re going to be functional,” Peiffer said.

Raymer said GRMC is looking to upgrade furniture in the rooms as well.

Inpatient volume is up about 20 percent, according to Raymer.

Also, Raymer reported that St. Bernards will now come to GRMC three days instead of one for cardiology.

He said the hospitalist program is going well and patients are giving positive feedback

“They’re really impressed by it,” Raymer said.

In other news, Raymer recruited a nurse practitioner, Chasity Campbell, APRN, who recently graduated and starts to work this week.

He publicly thanked the Osceola-based Mississippi County Discretionary Foundation for its $15,000 medical grant that will be used for surgical equipment at South Mississippi County Regional Medical Center.

The foundation also sponsored a nurse practitioner, agreeing to pay her student loans in exchange for her agreeing to stay at SMC for at least five years.

Raymer also reported that he was selected to the state Chamber of Commerce.

Meanwhile, Mississippi County Hospital System Chief Nursing Officer Felicia Pierce told the board about the hiring of a full-time infection control nurse, Jennifer Adcock.

Pierce noted the Arkansas Northeastern College Nurse Recruitment Day will be Feb. 19. Last year, the hospital system hired five ANC nursing school graduates.

Pierce said there will be staff development training in the spring or summer.

She thanked St. Bernards for giving the hospital system 16 stretchers. The GRMC and SMC emergency rooms will receive five stretchers each, with the remaining six going to same day surgery.

Pierce also provided the hospital board with several reports.

Also Monday, Peiffer reported on equipment updates and improvements being made at GRMC.

He said Dr. Joseph Yao is now seeing patients on Mondays and Wednesdays, while general surgeon Dr. Babatunde Oladiran will perform surgeries at the Great River Specialty Clinic.

Peiffer reported on the gas energy audit as well, noting GRMC will have annual projected savings of $8,242 and SMC will see savings of $5,312.

In other news, Mississippi County Hospital System Chief Financial Officer Randy Nichols reported the Accounts Payable days were at 49 in December, with a balance in AP of $2,626,743.

Accounts receivable is 75 days gross and 51 days net.

“The increased volume and billing has increased the number of days,” Nichols said. “We are addressing some billing issues with some of the HMO accounts and some delays in Medicaid billing.”

The operating cash balance was $2,257,124 in December, and total cash increased by $337,650 between November and December, according to Nichols.

Patient days were up 19.8 percent and ER visits up 21.2 percent at GRMC compared to December 2018. Admissions were up 27.2 percent at GRMC in December compared to December 2018 and up four percent for the year.

At SMC, admissions were down 60 percent last month compared to December 2018, but up 22 percent for the year.

Patient days were down 69 percent for the month and down 26 percent for the year at SMC.

ER visits at SMC were up 28 percent for the month and down seven percent for the year.

In December, the hospital system had a net loss of $210,145, with SMC in the red $244,282, GRPS down $9,368, and GRMC in the black $43,505.

In 2019, the hospital system was in the red by $820,143, but was up about $1.4 million from the previous year.

The next hospital board meeting is scheduled for 12 p.m., Monday, March 16, at GRMC.