Custer Hospital Board seeks champion for regions elders

The Board of the West Custer County Hospital District (WCCHD) held its regular meeting on August 28. Board Chairman Ron Terry opened the meeting by revisiting the issue of the formal inclusion of Wetmore into the District’s coverage area. Terry also revisited a previous request made to fellow Board members, asking them to “look ahead 2-3 years” and come up with some ideas for where they want to see the WCCHD focusing its efforts. One example that Terry himself put forward was the consideration of partnering with the Custer County Department of Public Health and having a health fair in conjunction with their flu shot clinic next year. Also, Terry said, “The clinic needs an urgent care after-hours clinic.” EMS Manager Justine Beach agreed, saying that 30 percent of EMS calls come after hours: “We would need a receptionist, a nurse practitioner, an intake person – it might cut down on EMS runs.” She emphasized, however, that the after-hours clinic would not be intended for trauma.

Board Secretary Dr. Alma Golden suggested expanding the use of EMS personnel for such an after-hours clinic: “We probably ought to put our money where our mouth is,” she said. “Commit funds to a pilot program, get analytics and metrics – number of patients seen, EMS runs averted.”

Clinic Manager Isaac Asbury said that he had been in discussion with Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center (HRRMC) about an after-hours clinic, “possibly from 6 to 9:30 p.m.” He also said that he had a new Nurse Practitioner starting, and that a new dermatologist may be coming to the clinic two days per week. “Clinic staffing is OK, doctors have been rotating in from HRRMC to cover for Dr. Stephens,” who is recovering from cancer treatment.

Beach gave the EMS report, saying that there had been 81 calls in July, 44 transports, ten second calls, and two lift assists. She also said that she had interviewed ten candidates for a paramedic position and hoped to be able to offer the position later that day. Terry called for a motion on Beach’s revised job description, which would put her into more of a managerial position, business tabled from last month, with a start date of September 1. The motion passed unanimously.

General Contractor Lisa Kidwell gave the facilities report. “We are getting ready for the Open House, and following the Open House, there will be a flurry of painting. Security cameras are going in on both buildings.” Kidwell also reported that she had just met with a concrete company to pour a driveway for winter access to the clinic’s generator. Repairs and upgrades to the EMS building, including their generator and their garage doors, are also forthcoming.

Under Old Business, the Board voted to approve updates to the Standard Operating Guidelines, and confirmed plans for the clinic/EMS Open House, set for 1 – 5 p.m. on September 27. Under New Business, the Board revisited the Senior Health Project, the subject of a presentation from consultant Mary Callan at the last meeting. At that meeting, Callan suggested finding a “champion” within the community who, possibly for a small stipend, would begin the work of identifying community partners for senior health care, ultimately hiring a senior services “navigator” to identify and coordinate services.

The discussion began with Terry asking the rest of the Board, “How do you see [us] moving forward on [Callan’s] proposal?”

“I like the idea of looking through the report and seeing what we can take on,” said Tom Shepard: “We can’t take on the whole thing.”

“I think we need a lot of collaboration with other groups to make it happen,” said Shana McKellip.

“The initial proposal to find a ‘champion’ (to begin the work) – I don’t see this Board trying to do this work, I think there needs to be a committee,” Terry said.

“This has been going on for a long time, and we are not getting any younger,” Golden said. “I think we should at least hire someone who could possibly write a grant and start the navigation project. We have collaborators, we need to come up with the mechanism… I do agree with the notion of a champion – we do have a lot of champions in a way. I am not ready to throw in the towel and say that because we can’t do it all, we can’t do anything – I would like to at least put out the idea that we are willing to sponsor $20,000 worth of work to help fund the navigator project.”

“How do you envision that happening?” Terry asked. “Go back to Mary Callan,” Golden replied, “And you have one of the collaborators sitting beside you” – indicating Public Health Director Sara Bertelsen. “Define the roles that each collaborator is committing to – get a grant and then get a navigator for 1-2 years to see if this is going to work for our community. This would be the next step in identifying how to expand services in a way that is well-defined.”

Bertelsen said that she wants to expand her nursing staff, using a “care coordination” model, for such issues as pre- and post-surgical care. She cited Ark Valley Helping Hand, a volunteer-based service in Chaffee County, as a model, “possibly calling it Neighbor to Neighbor. Funding would be great because the federal government is still cutting funding. We would love to collaborate.”

“I have an idea,” Golden said, “The Board will allocate a certain amount of money to allow Mary to work with Sara to see what funding is out there. We can pay Mary to help her, and a little bit of money to help subsidize services that we have been talking about for two to three years. The Board offers $20,000, so we can hear in six months whether this is working or not.”

Terry asked for general agreement on whether the Board should consider the matter and then make a decision at the September meeting. Treasurer Cindy Alvarado said that she would come prepared with information on how much money WCCHD had available in discretionary funding.

“I am OK with tabling this till next meeting, but let’s move,” was Golden’s response.

The Board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for September 25.

– Elliot Jackson