News and Features

Morgan Memorial Hospital saw an extremely high volume of patients in January, according to Chris Bonham, CEO. Patient numbers are measured by patient days, and inpatient days in January were numbered at 751. This is compared to 596 inpatient days in December. Outpatient visits were 920, of which 382 were visiting the emergency room. He reported the levels were back to normal so far in February.

"We were running at a torrid pace," Bonham said at the February Hospital Authority meeting. "We were happy to have lots of people to take care of."

The hospital consists of 20 beds in the transitional care unit and 20 beds in the hospital, and at a couple of days during the month, patients had to be turned away.

Bonham also reported that the new operating room facility should be ready to serve patients by April. The new CT scanner is almost ready for use, and the installation of the new operating room sterilizer has been completed. The operating room was closed in the past years because of termination of anesthesia coverage and outdated equipment. Bonham said after the meeting that new anesthesia equipment has been purchased and the hospital has its coverage back.

"We won’t be doing brain surgery, but we will be able to do open surgery." Bonham said. "It will be mostly day surgeries. We will start small and really be good at what we do."

Another one of the top priorities for the hospital administration is a review of the Emergency Preparedness Plan, Bonham said. Bonham, along with the help of Hospital Authority member John Miliken, is coordinating with agents in the county to update the hospital’s emergency plan. p>

Other reports at the meeting included Judy Gilbert’s finance report. In January, the hospital saw a net gain of $26,000. The year to date net income is $275,000, according to Gilbert. Operating expenses were over budget by $26,000 due to $16,000 accrual in the laboratory.

Gilbert also reported that 99 percent of the collections are within 60 days or less.

"Collections are at the targeted level," she said.