July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Purchase of Vormohr building OK'd (5/21/04)
Hospital board to acquire building
In a special meeting Thursday, the Jay County Hospital Board made the final decision to purchase the Vormohr Medical Center building and property, but not without objections.
Two board members who voted for the letter of intent to purchase the building at the April 28 meeting turned down the final purchase. Debbie Kummer and Ken Walters stated they had recently reviewed the financial aspects of the purchase, which will cost $650,000, and decided to vote against the motion Thursday evening.
Kummer said she voted against the purchase because she was concerned with the cost of the upkeep of the building, located at 1758 West 100 South. She also is concerned about the building’s continued occupancy.
JCH chief financial officer Don Michael said current tenants of the building are Midwest Health Strategies, First Call Home Health Care and Dr. Frank Vormohr and Dr. Jerry Whetzel. He said space is also rented out to a clinic and a dermatologist. First Call Home Health Care will be vacating in June or July. Michael is uncertain how long the clinic or other doctors will remain in the building. Vormohr has the five-year lease, he said this morning.
“I don’t think this is a wise financial decision,” Kummer said. “If any doctors go out, we have an empty building.”
Walters said he was concerned the purchase might hinder future expansion possibilities, such as building a new hospital in 10 to 12 years. When the hospital was built, land behind it was purchased to allow for expansion, he said. Walters could foresee the hospital losing a large amount of money on the purchase, which could hurt the hospital financially and prevent it from growing.
“You’ve got to have rocks in your head to believe you could make money on (the Vormohr Medical Center),” he said.
In making this purchase, JCH will form a limited liability company with Cardinal Health Systems. The hospital will have a 65 percent part in the LLC. As part of the purchase, JCH will be required to provide daily management services to the LLC.
After the motion for the purchase was passed, the board voted to appoint two members to the LLC board.
It was decided hospital board member and Portland businessman Bill Davis and Chuck Huffman, a Dunkirk resident, would be the JCH board representatives on the LLC board. Cardinal Health Partners will appoint the third member.
“I think these two individuals are both uniquely qualified to serve in this role,” acting board chairman Dean Jetter said. He added both men come from diverse careers and from different areas in the county.
The LLC board members’ task will be to oversee all business processes for the building. They will collect rent for the building, make sure the yard is mowed and the building is kept in good condition. In other business, chief executive officer Joe Johnston updated the board on the progress of two of the hospital’s programs.
He said the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program, which launched in April and is held at the Vormohr Medical Center, has had six patients so far. Two more patients have been added just this week.
The program has a monitored exercise program with education on cardiac disease. It is for patients who have had open heart surgery, heart attacks, stents implanted or other cardiac illnesses.
The board voted to allow Johnston to act as executive in an agreement with Radiology Associates of Muncie Inc. for a three-year contract. This agreement will allow the company to provide all of the imaging services for JCH. The current contract for these services expires May 25.
Three different firms were interested in the contract, but Johnston said the Muncie company would best meet its needs.
Also Thursday, the board approved an agreement with Code Correct, an American Hospital Association company, for $750 per year. The agreement will provide more accurate coding and quicker access to codes for the hospital, through its web-based coding reimbursement program. It will aid with billing for companies and programs, such as Medicare, and can be used by department managers and administrators to set up codes.
Also Thursday, board members:
•Heard Michael report that the hospital had a net income of $246,757 in April, which is 42.8 percent above a budgeted figure of $172,831. Hospital admissions in April totaled 111. This figure is up 7 percent from the budgeted number of 104.
•Heard chief of staff Kathleen Galbraith say the TeenAware web site and radio program are doing well. She said she answers about three to four e-mails to the web site per week. Five teens showed up at the most recent radio show to be guest hosts. The summer schedule for the radio show has not been set.
The web site is www.teenaware.com, and the radio program can be heard on WPGW 100.9 FM on Sundays from 8 to 9 p.m.
•Announced that at the Wednesday, June 23 meeting a special recognition will be made for retiring board member Walters. He has been on the board for 16 years.
Walters said he joined the board to promote excellent patient care in honor of his father-in-law, who passed away at the hospital.[[In-content Ad]]
Two board members who voted for the letter of intent to purchase the building at the April 28 meeting turned down the final purchase. Debbie Kummer and Ken Walters stated they had recently reviewed the financial aspects of the purchase, which will cost $650,000, and decided to vote against the motion Thursday evening.
Kummer said she voted against the purchase because she was concerned with the cost of the upkeep of the building, located at 1758 West 100 South. She also is concerned about the building’s continued occupancy.
JCH chief financial officer Don Michael said current tenants of the building are Midwest Health Strategies, First Call Home Health Care and Dr. Frank Vormohr and Dr. Jerry Whetzel. He said space is also rented out to a clinic and a dermatologist. First Call Home Health Care will be vacating in June or July. Michael is uncertain how long the clinic or other doctors will remain in the building. Vormohr has the five-year lease, he said this morning.
“I don’t think this is a wise financial decision,” Kummer said. “If any doctors go out, we have an empty building.”
Walters said he was concerned the purchase might hinder future expansion possibilities, such as building a new hospital in 10 to 12 years. When the hospital was built, land behind it was purchased to allow for expansion, he said. Walters could foresee the hospital losing a large amount of money on the purchase, which could hurt the hospital financially and prevent it from growing.
“You’ve got to have rocks in your head to believe you could make money on (the Vormohr Medical Center),” he said.
In making this purchase, JCH will form a limited liability company with Cardinal Health Systems. The hospital will have a 65 percent part in the LLC. As part of the purchase, JCH will be required to provide daily management services to the LLC.
After the motion for the purchase was passed, the board voted to appoint two members to the LLC board.
It was decided hospital board member and Portland businessman Bill Davis and Chuck Huffman, a Dunkirk resident, would be the JCH board representatives on the LLC board. Cardinal Health Partners will appoint the third member.
“I think these two individuals are both uniquely qualified to serve in this role,” acting board chairman Dean Jetter said. He added both men come from diverse careers and from different areas in the county.
The LLC board members’ task will be to oversee all business processes for the building. They will collect rent for the building, make sure the yard is mowed and the building is kept in good condition. In other business, chief executive officer Joe Johnston updated the board on the progress of two of the hospital’s programs.
He said the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program, which launched in April and is held at the Vormohr Medical Center, has had six patients so far. Two more patients have been added just this week.
The program has a monitored exercise program with education on cardiac disease. It is for patients who have had open heart surgery, heart attacks, stents implanted or other cardiac illnesses.
The board voted to allow Johnston to act as executive in an agreement with Radiology Associates of Muncie Inc. for a three-year contract. This agreement will allow the company to provide all of the imaging services for JCH. The current contract for these services expires May 25.
Three different firms were interested in the contract, but Johnston said the Muncie company would best meet its needs.
Also Thursday, the board approved an agreement with Code Correct, an American Hospital Association company, for $750 per year. The agreement will provide more accurate coding and quicker access to codes for the hospital, through its web-based coding reimbursement program. It will aid with billing for companies and programs, such as Medicare, and can be used by department managers and administrators to set up codes.
Also Thursday, board members:
•Heard Michael report that the hospital had a net income of $246,757 in April, which is 42.8 percent above a budgeted figure of $172,831. Hospital admissions in April totaled 111. This figure is up 7 percent from the budgeted number of 104.
•Heard chief of staff Kathleen Galbraith say the TeenAware web site and radio program are doing well. She said she answers about three to four e-mails to the web site per week. Five teens showed up at the most recent radio show to be guest hosts. The summer schedule for the radio show has not been set.
The web site is www.teenaware.com, and the radio program can be heard on WPGW 100.9 FM on Sundays from 8 to 9 p.m.
•Announced that at the Wednesday, June 23 meeting a special recognition will be made for retiring board member Walters. He has been on the board for 16 years.
Walters said he joined the board to promote excellent patient care in honor of his father-in-law, who passed away at the hospital.[[In-content Ad]]
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