Integration is in full swing

It’s a busy time at Jay County Hospital.

While the regular work of patient care continues, the hospital is also in full swing with the process of transitioning to become the newest member of the IU Health organization.

“There’s so much stuff going on,” hospital CEO Dave Hyatt told Jay County Hospital Board at its meeting Wednesday afternoon. “It’s hard to list everything.”

Lori Luther, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital COO, and Hyatt talked about the process during and after the meeting, noting that a large chunk of the work to be done prior to the March 1 integration date involves training on IU Health’s electronic medical records system. To that end, IU Health chief health information officer Seung Park was on hand Wednesday to meet first with the board and then the medical staff.

Luther estimated that about 100 staffers from the two facilities are working on the integration, with IU Health staff regularly on site at Jay County Hospital. There are integration-related phone calls virtually every day, and executives from both facilities hold regular Friday meetings.

“We’re all there together so we can make decisions,” Luther said.

Another key component in the integration is the area of contracts with companies that provide services to the hospital. Some of those contracts will be transferred to IU Health, while others will be terminated because those same companies are already contracted with IU Health.

The board also learned that several new pieces of equipment — an outpatient sterilizer ($24,000) and three GlideScope systems at a total cost of $36,402 — have been purchased for immediate use.

Others will be put into services once the integration is complete.

“I’ve got to give kudos to IU Health,” said Hyatt. “The definitive (integration) agreement talks about $2 million to $3 million in clinical equipment, but I can already tell there’s going to be significantly high investments in our facility.

“The equipment that we’re ordering now is equipment we need for patient care. We’re not going to wait for IU Health to invest in equipment that’s needed to take care of our patients today.”

As part of the integration process, the board appointed members Dave Littler and Bill Hinkle and attorney John Coldren to the transition committee, which will be responsible for handling issues related to shutting down Jay County Hospital as an entity after the facility shifts to become IU Health Jay.

Also Wednesday, Hyatt reported that the financial issues that led to the decision to integrate with IU Health are continuing.

While Jay County Hospital has seen improved numbers in a variety of areas over last year — admissions, labs and radiology performed well in November — the financial losses continue. The facility had operational losses of nearly $400,000 in November and it is $1.02 million in the red through the first two months of fiscal 2018.

In other business, the board:

•Made the following medical staff assignments: the appointments of Dr. Joseph Spahr (oncology), Dr. Janet Roepke (pathology), Dr. Brogan Bahler (emergency medicine) and Dr. Jerome Klein, Dr. Adam Hecht, Dr. Robert Henry and Dr. Harvey Greenberg (teleradiology) to the courtesy staff, and Camille Elick-Shawver (nurse practitioner) as an independent allied health professional; and the reappointment of Dr. Samir Ishak (psychiatry) to the active staff, Dr. Thomas Freeman (podiatrist), Dr. Elmer Toliver (emergency medicine), Dr. Edward Hosbach (hospice and palliative) and Dr. Peter Verhey (teleradiology) to the courtesy staff, and Tipton Sneed (nurse practitioner) as an independent allied health professional.

•Accepted the resignation of Dr. Sulfi Ibrahim (oncology).

•Heard that 81 members of the hospital auxiliary totaled 1,559.25 volunteer hours in November. The group also donated $2,000 to Helping Hand Food Bank and $500 to Kate’s Kart, an organization that provides books for children who are hospitalized.

•Renewed health insurance through IU Health Plans and dental insurance through Delta Dental. Both renewals will be for just two months as the hospital will fall under new IU Health plans when it becomes IU Health Jay on March 1.