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Board approves more efficient office equipment for St. Luke Hospital

Staff reporter

In an effort to streamline administrative production, the Board of Directors of Marion County Hospital District #1 approved the purchase of 10 copiers and printers Dec. 19 for $23,500 from Business Systems Incorporated of Wichita.

Chief financial officer Hilary Dolbee reported that there was a wide and varied amount of copiers, fax machines, and printers throughout the hospital campus. With that variety comes an ordering headache of cartridges and other refills and keeping them on hand for each machine.

Dolbee recommended the district purchase of one multi-function machine that copies, faxes, and prints that would replace equipment in the business office. Computers can be networked to the machine and personnel can print information and send and receive faxes from their workstations.

Two moderate-sized copiers would be located in home health and medical records. Seven smaller machines would be distributed throughout the campus to replace older equipment.

Dolbee pointed out that some machines were costing five to six cents per copy. Copies from the new multi-function machine would cost less than one cent per copy, she said.

Electronic faxing will eliminate the need to print all incoming and outgoing faxes which was another way to save money.

The present copiers will be traded in.

In other business:

— Dolbee presented a monthly financial report for November that reflected the facility lost money in operations.

Census had been constant but did not result in as much revenue because of additional swing bed patients

Gross revenues are down 4.42 percent across the board from October. Although the income has increased 5.02 percent in gross revenues from this time last year the district is below budget by 7.64 percent for the fiscal year.

Net revenues are down 15.39 percent from October but ahead of last year at this time by 27.81 percent.

Dolbee also reported sufficient funds were not budgeted for food, a shortfall of $47,000 for the year. Funds from a Blue Cross/Blue Shield refund will be used.

— The board approved the annual membership to Kansas Hospital Association. Dues are $6,780 for 2007.

— Adjustments to the clinic lease amount and on-call emergency room services resulted in a break-even situation.

Chief executive officer Jeremy Armstrong said the lease for the clinic needed to be based on fair market value which resulted in an increase.

Armstrong also reviewed the rate of compensation for emergency room coverage during the week and discovered physicians were not being adequately compensated.

The board approved the increased of the lease of Marion Family Physicians clinic to $2,320 per month and weekday coverage of the ER by the physicians to $10,107 per month.

— The current physician's lounge, located in the hospital, will be reconfigured to accommodate more uses.

Currently there is one open area, a sleeping area, and a bathroom. One-half of the open area will be divided into three cubicles for office space for quality assurance, risk management, and pharmacy oncology personnel.

Lounge space would remain available for visiting doctors.

Remodeling would be completed in-house with an approximate cost of $300 for materials.

— Auditing for fiscal year 2006 (October 2005 through September 2006) is near completion. A draft audit report was reviewed by the board.

There is $1.5 million in the bank which is $300,000 more than the same time last year.

Delayed Medicare payments made patient receivable accounts more than $127,000 than the previous year.

St. Luke Foundation information was included in the audit. The foundation has $131,000 in assets and no liabilities.

— Armstrong was the recipient of a free master plan for the hospital as a result of a drawing at a Kansas Hospital Association meeting.

— A thank you note to the board from employees was acknowledged for Christmas bonuses that totaled $31,000.

— Debbie Craig of the living center reported the passenger van had been delivered.

The next hospital district board meeting will be at 7 p.m. Jan. 15 in the clinic basement.

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