Bill break at hospital

Thanks to some new software, those who have hospital bills will get a little break.
Members of the Jay County Hospital Board voted Wednesday night to reduce customers’ bills by 25 percent if the bill is paid by Nov. 30.
All accounts are being transferred to the hospital’s new medical information/billing software, Meditech from STAR. The discount is being offered to help cut down on how many accounts must be transferred, said Jay County Hospital Chief Financial Officer Don Michael.
Michael estimated that 200 to 300 accounts will be paid off with this discount.
He said that although the discount hadn’t yet been approved by the board, bills sent out this month notified stated that the discount was offered. Michael said after the meeting that he didn’t know what would have happened if the board had voted against the matter. However, the discount program was discussed by the finance committee last week.
“The average has been about $100 on statements,” Michael said of customers who have taken advantage of the discount. “I don’t think we’ll have a lot of those big accounts” being paid off with the discount, he added.
In other business Wednesday, board members learned that equipment to transmit EKG to the hospital recently was installed in Jay Emergency Medical Service ambulances.
This program allows emergency medical workers take an EKG of the patient while he or she is in an ambulance.
Data collected is then transmitted to the hospital through radio waves. The information is interpreted and hospital workers determine if the patient needs to go to a different hospital better equipped for handling the patient’s heart condition.
Lisa Craiger, JCH chief nursing officer, told board members that the new system was installed about two weeks ago and has already been used on five patients.
The program was funded through a $20,000 grant from the Indiana State Department of Health.
Also Wednesday, board members:
•Learned that the annual Celebration of Lights will be held Nov. 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the hospital. The event benefits the hospital’s Lifeline program.
•Were reminded the hospital’s fall health fair will be held Nov. 6 from 7 to 11 a.m. at Jay County High School.
There will be blood tests, displays and food.
•Heard Michael report that the hospital had a net income of $179,614 and total revenue of $5,759,292 in September.
•Heard Jay County Hospital Auxiliary president Marilyn Post report that 79 volunteers worked 1,576 hours in September.
•Approved one-year contracts with TriMedx biomedical testing firm and API.
TriMedx will be paid $44,525.40 to test and do preventative maintenance on the majority of equipment used in the hospital. This excludes pumps, gas machines and anesthesia machines used in the operating room.
The contract with API is $5,554.76 to conduct monthly tests to check the calibration of instruments used in the hospital’s laboratory.
•Voted to amend a contract with LabCorp.
The amendment changes the amount the company pays the hospital to do blood draws. LabCorp then tests the samples. This will increase the amount the hospital is paid for each blood draw to $10 from $8.
•Voted to replace a copy machine at Family Practice of Jay County.
The hospital will lease the new copy machine from Perry Corporation, Fort Wayne, at a monthly cost of $262.40.[[In-content Ad]]