GRANTS, N.M. – The Cibola General Hospital board held its final regular meeting on Nov. 23. The board has recently implemented additional sessions to keep members informed during the pandemic. These sessions are generally held the week prior to board meetings; the Nov. 12 session provided updates in preparation for the regular monthly meeting.
One community member asked about the number of COVID-19 patients at CGH. There were six-seven admitted and three-four in the ICU department, which has four beds. The daily number of symptomatic outpatients was 18, according to hospital officials.
CEO report
Thomas Whelan, hospital CEO, said that Fiscal Year 2021 is projected to be 14.2 percent higher than FY 2020; office visits (Cibola Family Health Center) are predicted to increase by 6.4 percent next year.
Dr. Abdul Ahmed, orthopedic surgeon, had 71 people visit his office, Cibola Specialty Associates Clinic, after his practice started accepting patients in mid-October. Twenty-six were hospitalized and the orthopedic services generated a little less $100,000 during the first month. This contributed to 32 percent increase in the number of people using the rehabilitation department services.
Three cardiologists, Dr. Michael Gurule, Dr. Loutsios Ierides, Dr. Roderick Woods, have contracted with CGH to schedule medical procedures and will be offering office visits twice a week.
Two additional medical providers are expected to join the staff before Dec. 31.
The CEO reported on employee exposure to the coronavirus and staffing challenges.
“Since March, the number of employees exposed to the coronavirus could be counted on one hand,” said the CEO who added that the hospital had been short staffed during the second week of November. Ten percent of the workforce was unable to report for their job duties “due to illness and related causes.”
Nursing department
The hospital had a one percent re-admission rate during October, according to Co-Chief Nursing Officers Maria Atencio and Glenna Losito, and zero incidents of surgical site infections. The report noted four fall-free days (the number of days when no patient experiences a fall) in October. The nationwide nursing shortage has affected CGH. The hospital recently recruited a new nursing graduate from Texas and has hired three nursing assistant/tech staff to assist CGH nurses.
Seventy-one of the 735 people who visited the emergency department in October were admitted to CGH for treatment.
The cardio-pulmonary department has ordered two additional pieces of equipment in response to a surge in the number of COVID patients, according to the two Co-CNOs.
Finances
Jim Hermes, interim chief financial officer, noted that during the past eight months the financial impact of the pandemic was a total of $4,006,886 for the hospital and the CFHC (CGH clinic).
He reported that charges for services, $6.2 million, was “off budget” by $550,000 but the figure reflects a strong rebound from September, $5.1 million. CFHC visits bounced back from a monthly average of 1,633 for July-September and rose to 1,987 by Oct. 31.
October net revenue, $3.5 million, was $600,000 above budgeted projections. The hospital received a 2020-21 Medicaid rate adjustment, $2 million, in September.
Operating expenses were $182,000 over budget; contract labor for the lab accounted for $30,000 and nursing staff was responsible for the additional $40,000; purchased services included $90,000 for lab services.
Upcoming meetings
• Thursday, Dec. 17, board update session
• No regular board meeting in December
• Thursday, Jan.14, 2021, regular monthly meeting
Visit cibolahospital.com or call 505-287-5208 for more information.