Eastland Memorial Hospital District Board — Meeting Recap

Eastland Memorial Hospital District Board — Meeting Recap
The Hospital District Board met this week and covered a full agenda, from routine business to several updates on new services and funding.
Director Missy Moylan was officially sworn in. She was elected last term but had been out of town for the prior meeting, so the board administered her oath of office and conflict-of-interest paperwork at this meeting.
The board approved its consent agenda, which included medical staff appointments, updated hospital policies, and routine reports. Among the service updates: the hospital’s cardiology program continues to grow, with new ambulatory blood-pressure monitoring being added, and MRI service has expanded from three days a week to five. The skilled nursing center remains at full capacity, and pharmacy and physical therapy students have begun training on-site.
A major focus was funding. The district reported it has been selected as a direct recipient of a $3.5 million state rural health grant, with planning beginning this year and programming — expected to focus on areas like diabetes and obesity — starting next year. The hospital has also applied for additional grants to support EMS equipment, an MRI machine, ultrasound and other diagnostic equipment, replacement ED stretchers, and workforce programs aimed at recruiting and retaining local staff such as paramedics and nurses.
On insurance, administrators shared progress in renegotiating payer contracts, including an agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield to pay full Medicare rates for certain inpatient and swing-bed care — an improvement over prior reimbursement.
The board also discussed the regional EMS co-op budget and a coming telemedicine program intended to let the hospital treat more patients locally rather than transferring them to larger facilities, with a target launch later this summer.
Finally, board members reviewed a communications policy clarifying that any district business conducted over personal email may be subject to public records and retention requirements.
The board then moved into executive session to review clinical quality and risk-management reports.