Board reviews annual audit

McCOOK, Nebraska -- An audit of Community Hospital's 2009-10 financial report by an outside auditing firm came back in good shape.

"It's a clean opinion," said hospital president Jim Ulrich, following a board of directors' meeting Sept. 15. The accounting firm of Seim Johnson of Omaha, which performed the audit, specializes in healthcare systems and providers.

Ulrich said he's pleased with the results of the audit, especially in light of additional governmental regulations involved with USDA funding for the hospital's $29 million expansion project.

The audit result is an indication, Ulrich said, that the hospital continues to operate in the present, plan for the future and focus on efficiency. "The building project is a testament to that," Ulrich said.

While more details will be released in the hospital's annual report released in the next few months, Ulrich said the financial report indicates a 91⁄2 percent increase in total revenues and a 5.4 percent increase in operating expenses, generating an operating margin of more than 8 percent. "That's a good operating margin," Ulrich said. "That means we can continue to invest in our facility and technology."

Ulrich said the hospital's total assets grew by $8 1/2 million, to a total of $34 million, in part because of the building and renovation project.

Ulrich told directors at their meeting that while recent news reels with stories of shootings at hospitals and other businesses, Community Hospital has worked on their preparation for the worst, having conducted an active shooter table-top training drill for hospital employees last quarter.

Ulrich said hospital officials work continually to review facility and security measures to prevent a shooting incident on hospital property. "You're probably never fully prepared for a situation of this magnitude, but continued preparation enhances our ability to prevent this type of incident from occurring," Ulrich said.

To ensure the safety of hospital staff, Ulrich said, the hospital has "Safety Champions," individuals from each hospital department who work with officials and maintenance to identify and address safety concerns on the hospital campus.

Fire drills, safety, infection control and security efforts will continue to be addressed as hospital operations move into newly-built and renovated spaces, Ulrich said. "We will continue to be pro-active as far as safety is concerned, for our patients, their families and our staff," he said.

Ulrich reported that there were none -- not one -- healthcare-associated infection at Community Hospital from January through June 2010. "That's great," Ulrich said. "We continue to do a really good job attending to detail to minimize healthcare-associated infections."

Also, from April through June, the hospital recorded a 1/3 to 1/2 of 1 percent error rate in medications, which is very low according to industry standards.

Community Hospital is implementing a new safety program, called "Reptrax," which requires that all vendors visiting Community Hospital have blood-borne pathogen training and current immunizations.

Exterior work on Phase 1 of the hospital two-phase $29 million expansion and renovation project is winding down, as workers finish window trim and wood siding. Next month, Ulrich said, the ground around the project will be graded and the building site cleaned up.

Phase 1, a new patient wing, is on track to be completed by Dec. 17 and Ulrich said he expects to move into the new area in January.

Ulrich said hospital officials are now developing detailed plans to remodel the hospital surgery area on the tail-end of Phase 2, after the spring of 2012, a project made possible because the two-phase expansion project came in under an initial projected budget of more than $31 million.

Ulrich said the hospital is also working on an internal hospital web site to update hospital staff members on the logistics and timeline of the move into the new patient wing.