April 30, 2008 Edition

Also in this issue...

LHS has new financial officer

The Lawrence Health Service Board unanimously approved the appointment of Vanessa Wagner, CPA, as chief financial officer at its meeting on Monday night.
Board members were complimentary of Wagner's quality of work and progress the past few months. She was formerly the senior director of finance.
The board also approved the purchase of the TruCode Encoder System for the Medical Records Department. The purchase will require an initial cash outlay of $15,400 and an annual update fee of $10,900.
In other business:

the board approved the recommendation for reappointment of Dr. Roger Troxel to the active medical staff and Dr. Joseph Sams, OB-GYN, and Dalton Barber, sleep study, to the consultant staff for the period of May 1, 2008 until April 30, 2010.

Kim Williams, interim director of nursing, presented the fourth-quarter quality data report. The report reflected the trend of continued strong performance scores. Williams also discussed the national patient safety goals and the implementation of these goals.

Ernest Briner, vice president of support services, presented the Environmental Safety Report. The report reflected a consistent pattern of compliance with the safety plan and no unusual occurrences. He also reported on the recent OSHA inspection that reflected no recommendations.

Sharon Clements, RN and director of nursing for Lawrence Hall, presented the nursing home report. She reported a regular daily census of 164 for the month with three admissions for the past month. She also presented a graph on national quality initiatives to the board that reflects current monitoring of physical restraints, pressure ulcers, chronic pain and depression. The graph reflected that the nursing home is exceeding goals in all four areas.

the administrator's report by George Fray reflected the current focus of the hospital and nursing home on cost, customer service, quality, safety and diversity. The report noted progress in these areas, and Fray expressed appreciation to the board, medical staff and employees for their willingness to work together for a common goal of a viable organization.

May meeting rescheduled
The May board meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday, May 27, at 6:30 p.m. in the Conference Room of Lawrence Memorial Hospital due to the regular meeting date falling on the Memorial Day holiday.

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