Foundation turns focus to 2015

Jay County Hospital Foundation is winding down its 2014 campaign and ramping up for its 2015 drive.
Hospital chief executive officer Dave Hyatt announced Wednesday to Jay County Hospital’s Board of Trustees that the foundation will run its campaign in support of the obstetrics department. The board was also updated on the work of the foundation’s current campaign and Jay County Medical Society’s intent to donate to local causes.
Hyatt said the goal for the 2015 campaign is to strengthen and invest in the obstetrics department by using raised funds to update equipment and continue its physician recruitment efforts.
“The OB department is one we want to make sure that we have funds to keep the equipment up to date and keep it as advanced as we can because we think while many counties struggle to operate an OB department, we’re very fortunate here to have a very strong OB department that continually sets the bar with quality measures and everything else,” said Hyatt.
The focus of the campaign will be investment in the department, which Hyatt is excited to see as he considers it a service “near and dear to the heart” of Jay County Hospital.
While the board’s focus was on the upcoming campaign, the foundation’s current drive to bring awareness about cancer screenings continues next month with free mammograms for women who meet certain criteria. Those who are uninsured, at least 40 years old and meet additional requirements can receive a free screening at the hospital through the month of October.
“It’s all about early detection,” said Hyatt, adding the screenings work through a partnership of radiologists and the hospital.
These programs have also garnered attention from other organizations such as Richmond’s Reid Hospital, which will soon send representatives to visit JCH to see how the foundation received such an amount of involvement for this year’s campaign.
“We’ve actually gained regional recognition,” said Hyatt. “We’ve got some folks coming from Reid Hospital to learn how to get such participation, especially with the colorectal cancer screenings.”
In addition to the hospital’s work through its foundation, its employees are also contributing to local organizations.
Chief of Staff Dr. Mark Haggenjos announced that the Jay County Medical Society, which is composed of the hospital’s active medical staff, will be giving donations to both the Portland Water Park campaign and Jay County High School’s band fundraiser for new uniforms.
The society will match up to a maximum of $5,000 — $2,500 for each project — for any donations made by the hospital’s employees.
“We thought the money sitting in our account doesn’t do a lot of good,” said Haggenjos of the funds collected through the payment of dues to the Indiana State Medical Association and reappointment fees.
Haggenjos said in exploring what is going on in the community, these two projects seemed worthwhile and deserving of the contribution.
In other business, board members David Littler, Bill Hinkle, Roger Locker, Brad DeRome, Debbie Kummer, Pat Miller and Janet Bantz:
•Approved an IU Health Participating Provider agreement to provide insurance for those residing in the county; the purchase of a one-year subscription with Truven Health Analytics at a cost of $5,213.52 for discharge and educational information for patients; and a renewal with EyeMed, the hospital’s vision insurance carrier, at a yearly cost of $12,474.12 for four years.
•Thanked foundation board members who are stepping down from their positions for their work and dedication to the hospital over the years, including Brad DeRome, Donna Haggenjos, Rex Journay, Mark Goldman and Susan Moser. The board then appointed new members to the Foundation’s board, including Adolfo Solis, Rusty Inman, Kathy Carpenter and Annette Alexander.
•Approved four physician agreements for the hospital’s emergency department, pending legal review, for Dr. Kevin Schreiber, Dr. Andrew Stevens, Dr. Sebastian Harris and Dr. Aimen Hassan.
•Approved appointments to the hospital’s courtesy staff of CRNA Neil Chivington, nurse anesthetist, and Dr. Andrew Stevens, emergency medicine. The board also approved reappointments to the courtesy staff of CRNA Jeff Bailey, nurse anesthetist, Dr. Sai Devarapalli, cardiology, Dr. Shelly Jain, teleradiology, and Dr. Roy Robertson, cardiology. It also approved status transfers for Dr. Tarek Gharibeh from active staff to courtesy, Dr. Michael Malnofski from courtesy to active and Dr. Samir Ishak from courtesy to active.
•Approved disbursement of 1,178 checks totaling $2,048,551.01 since the previous board meeting.
•Heard a report about the hospital’s auxiliary from president Joan Kelly. There were 71 volunteers in August who served a total of 1,236 hours.