’s
July 10, 2015 edition
The Pulse
Your regular check up on SCKMC activities Share your thoughts, story ideas, and comments by e-mail to claytonp@sckrmc.org.
SCKMC Earmarked for Sole Community
Dr. Roboto Open House July 30th
Virgil Watson, CEO, received word via e-mail on June 26th that the hospital has been approved for a change in their Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) designation. The new designation is called Sole Community Hospital status, a classification that is anticipated to produce hundreds of thousands in additional revenue for the medical center each year. “This is a huge step for the hospital. The sole community hospital status essentially provides the hospital with better reimbursement for the services we are already providing. We are looking at about $400,000 annually for these payments to increase to the hospital,” said Holly Harper, SCKMC’s CFO. Getting to this point has not been easy. Hospital administrators have attempted for years to have the status changed. “It took way too long to get it done. This was not an easy thing to do, simply because we had to rely on other people to give us the information. We had to get our information for the percentage of patients we serve in our area and who we are losing to Oklahoma and to Wellington. That information was difficult to come by,” Watson said. Watson was determined to complete the application process and made it a top priority since taking over as CEO. “There is no reason why we should not qualify. If all it was was data, then data is more readily available today than it was four years ago,” Watson said. Watson enlisted the help of Wichita accounting firm, BKD to find the required data. Through their contacts, BKD was eventually able to find the information required for the sole community status application online. Sole community hospital status opens the doors to several other programs. Hospital staff plans on using the status to apply for at least two other programs that could bring a significant increase to the hospital’s revenue, including the 340B pharmacy program which alone could bring an additional $500,000 in reimbursements. “This was a stepping stone into the 340B. We are also working on the rural health clinic status for our downtown clinic, and that’s another $400,000 potentially for the hospital. So in the big scheme of things we are looking at about $1.3 million every year that we can bring cash back to the hospital and that’s more than what our second half obligation is for the (hospital construction project) bonds. It’s a huge benefit for the hospital. It’s a really big step in the right direction,” Harper said.
Dr. Brian Hunt with Sunflower Telehospitalists LLC will be at SCKMC on July 30th to demonstrate the telemedicine capabilities of the hospitals newest program, and to answer any questions that the public may have. “Dr. Roboto” allows patients and nursing staff remote access to physicians 24hours a day. And while the concept of telemedicne has been used in a variety of applications for sometime, using remote systems to interact directly with a physician will be a new experience for most patients. “We understand that some people may be a little hesitant at first,” said Clayton Pappan, SCKMC’s Chief Marketing Officer. “That is why we are inviting everyone out to see the technology first hand and to meet the providers that will be part of their healthcare team.” There will be two opportunities for the public to meet Dr. Roboto. A “morning coffee” presentation will be held at 10:00 a.m., and a come-and-go open house will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Both events will be held in the hospital’s Education Center, located in the Outpatient Services Building.
Employee of the Month Congratulations April Madrigal, Registered Nurse in the emergency department, for being named the SCKMC Exceptional Service Award winner for the month of July. April was nominated by a patient for her dedication and caring attitude. She was presented with a certificate of appreciation by Chief Quality Officer Jane Campbell, and will have a parking spot reserved for her throughout July. If you would like to nominate someone for next month's award or view all of our past exceptional service nominees, visit us at www.sckmc.org.
Blood Drive Scheduled for July 21st SCKMC will host the American Red Cross for their summer blood drive on Tuesday, July 21st from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The drive is open to the public, however appointments are required. Donors may schedule an appointment one of three ways: 1. a sign up sheet is located in the hospital cafeteria 2. Contact blood drive coordinator, Clayton Pappan at 441-5920 or claytonp@sckrmc.org 3. Self-schedule online at www.redcrossblood.org by entering sponsor code “sckmc” SCKMC has exceeded their goal for the past two drives collecting 14 units of blood each time.
Register Online Today!
Saturday, August 29th – Patterson Park, Arkansas City SCKMC has partnered with professional race organizers for event registration and timing of an
"extreme obstacle" style race. The 5K (3.1 miles) with 12 obstacles race will be unlike any other event in the area. • Food & Beverage Vendors • Entertainment for all ages • Free spectator area The funds raised will benefit South Central Kansas Medical Center and our mission to serve within the community. All money raised will be used as the foundation for growth and development of the services we provide, such as equipment purchases, physician recruitment, and program enhancement.
www.sckmc.org for more information Obstacle photos are representative only. Obstacles are subject to change without notice
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