The Box Butte General Hospital (BBGH) Board of Trustees meeting was called to order at 12:00 p.m. Monday, March 28, 2022 in the Alliance Room at BBGH. The month’s agenda included an update of COVID-19 testing needs and patient volume, the current status of the Meditech electronic health record conversion, and the introduction of Chief Financial Officer Michael O’Dell. The consent calendar, March financial report, and credentialing requests were all approved as presented.

Michael O’Dell, new Chief Financial Officer began his duties with BBGH on March 23. He joins Alliance from the community of Hoxie, Kansas with an extensive background in healthcare finance and auditing. Mike is excited to be a part of the community and the hospital.

Quality and Safety updates included the current state of COVID-19 testing, outpatient therapy, and hospitalizations. Chief Quality Officer Mary Mockerman stated there has been a decrease in demand for testing at BBGH due to the use of home-testing increasing. BBGH is now offering home-test proctoring for individuals needing proof of testing results for travel purposes. Currently there is an adequate supply of the monoclonal antibody treatment and antiviral medication for patients with COVID-19. Hospital admissions from COVID-19 complications have seen a rapid decline since January. As of March 27, there were only four admissions for the month.   

Chief of Staff Dr. Narjes provided the Board with a brief update on the state of community illnesses. He stated there has been a decline in COVID-19, influenza, and RSV cases. However, there has been an increase in the number of births at BBGH.

Chief Operation Officer Jim Bargen provided the timeline for the hospital’s electronic health record conversion from Centriq to Meditech. The project’s next steps are to finalize assessment questionnaires for staff, gather bid quotes for interface utilization, and determine hardware requirements based on the infrastructure. The project is on schedule and is set to go live November 1, 2022. Brian Vrieze with Meditech is the Project Manager alongside Bargen.

In new business, the Board unanimously voted the addition of Chief Financial Officer Michael O’Dell to the banking resolution. O’Dell will be serving as the CFO succeeding Interim CFO Bill Luke.  CEO Lori Mazanec thanked Bill for serving the hospital during the permanent search.   

New BBGH employees include: Jennifer Figueroa, Scrub Tech/Ward Clerk, Felipa Gonzalez, EVS Tech, Skyler Knigge, EVS Tech, Tosha Green, RN, Staff Nurse, Janelle ‘Denise’ Reifschneider, CRNA, Michael O’Dell, Chief Financial Officer, Jessica Hartman, P.A.-C, Family Practice Provider, April Riggs, Nurse Aide/Ward Clerk, and Rickey Lore, Nurse Aide/Ward Clerk. Also recognized was March Employee of the Month Kate Horton, RN, ED Staff Nurse.

The next BBGH regular board meeting is Monday, April 25th at noon in the Alliance Room. The public is welcome to attend.

Box Butte General Hospital is an equal opportunity provider and employer.