The Box Butte General Hospital (BBGH) Board of Trustees meeting was called to order at 12 p.m. Monday, August 26th in the Alliance Room at BBGH. The month’s agenda included updates on Quality Management & Safety, latest information about the ongoing search for a permanent Chief Financial Officer, and the recent temporary suspension of elective inpatient surgeries. The consent calendar and credentialing requests were all approved as presented.
Quality and Safety updates included the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases. Chief Quality Officer Mary Mockerman stated 75% of COVID-19 cases in Nebraska are the Delta variant. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for people 16 years and older. It will be marketed under the brand name Comirnaty. The vaccine has been the best defense in keeping people from hospitalization. Monoclonal antibody treatment is working for those with less severe symptoms, also preventing hospitalizations.
Effective Monday August 30th Governor Ricketts reinstated a directed health measure (DHM). The DHM limits certain elective surgeries to preserve licensed beds for patients who require other inpatient care. These limitations will be followed through at least September 30. BBGH has also revised the temporary visitor policy in light of the spike in COVID-19 hospitalizations. There will be no visitors permitted in the Emergency Room or in the Patient Care Unit. Exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis.
New BBGH employees include Natasha Lyttle, RN, Megan McLaughlin, RN, Nicole Schekall, Clinic Registration Clerk, Megan Salzer, Scrub Tech/Ward Clerk, Bailey Vogel, RN, and Jeffrey Kildow, Pharmacist. Also recognized was August Employee of the Month Chief Operations Officer Jim Bargen, MBA-HM, ACHE.
The next BBGH regular board meeting is Monday, September 27th at noon in the Alliance Room. The public is welcome to attend via Zoom if preferred; contact Jennifer Dentler at 308-761- 3392 for the link.
Box Butte General Hospital is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
