Scott Thompson honored as he steps down from role on HHD's Board of Directors

After 10 years of service to the Haxtun Hospital District, Scott Thompson is stepping down from the Board of Directors. Thompson has held the position as President, leading the Board for a large portion of his time with the special district.

At the end of an hour-long, Monday, April 27 meeting, board members, administration and staff recognized Thompson for his dedicated service to the District.

"Scott's passion for the Hospital is obvious by his years of service, dedication and commitment," HHD Chief Executive Officer Dewane Pace said. "In his 10 years on the Board Scott put in many long and late hours to make sure that the Hospital not only survived, but thrived. Scott has been forward-thinking and supportive of the Hospital's new initiatives and service line expansions as the Hospital responds to the Community Needs Assessment to add more doctors, specialists, mental health and wellness programs. It has been an honor and a privilege to work with Scott to keep Haxtun Hospital as a resource for our community and a great place to receive care."

Three terms officially expire on the HHD Board of Directors next month including those for Thompson and fellow members Kent Bamford and Rod Salvador. During the May meeting, Bamford and Salvador will be sworn in to serve additional terms in the Board after completing necessary paperwork to serve again.

At that time, new officers will be elected and the Board will then need to decide to appoint someone to the vacant seat or hold off, according to Pace.

In his report to board members during the monthly April meeting early last week, Pace told the Board that HHD had not needed to execute any layoffs or furloughs during the recent pandemic as several other area hospitals have.

"We have seen a decrease in volume and revenue due to the current pandemic," Pace said. "Instead of laying people off or putting people on furlough to reduce expenses, we invited all employees to participate in the decisions and actions needed to make adjustments."

He explained that through a series of all-staff meetings with employees, administration laid out the current situation including information that volumes and revenues are down. The consensus, he said, was if everyone gave a little, then no one would need to give a lot.

"Employees volunteered to reduce their hours, purchases of supplies were scaled back, hiring decisions were delayed and a request for employee ideas was made," he added. "It worked. We basically just put our cards on the table and were open and honest with the team about the situation. They not only have stepped up and helped us avoid layoffs, but are continually checking in to see who needs help, who can take time off, who can't and are pulling together to make sure that we all survive this situation. The Haxtun Hospital team is an amazing group of people that are doing whatever needs to be done to make sure that we are still here for our community."

Pace also talked about clinic changes in his report, noting that at the Haxtun clinic, mornings have been designated for wellness visits and afternoons for sick patients. "We are deep cleaning the clinic continually and thoroughly disinfecting nightly," he added.

The Fleming clinic has been open for non-symptomatic patients and is used for wellness appointments on Tuesdays, diabetic appointments on Wednesdays and respiratory appointments on Thursdays.

As for a response to the COVID-19 situation, Pace said the hospital incident command is active and command staff are meeting regularly. Personal protective equipment inventory is adequate, currently, and a number of N-95 masks have been donated from several local businesses.

New processes and a designated entrance has been established for symptomatic patients, who are kept separated and isolated from patient areas. A third emergency room has been established for those with respiratory complaints and those suspected of COVID-19 symptoms to keep them separate from the other emergency room patients.

Additionally, the old Haxtun ambulance has been set up for transfer of suspected COVID-19 patients with a gurney, respiratory supplies and a heart monitor to reduce potential exposure.

In her report to the Board at the beginning of the meeting, Chief Financial Officer Joleen Stroyek said that despite the current pandemic, March finished strong.

According to her statistics summary, the ambulatory care unit, or hospital side of things, had a total of 90 patient days, 26 in-patient and 64 swing, which was 53 percent over budget for the month and 40 percent over budget year-to-date. The extended care unit, or nursing home, had an average daily census of 16.7, just shy of the budgeted 19.8 figure.

Stroyek said clinic visits were down slightly, totaling 406 for the month, a negative six percent under budget. Ancillary visits were also below budget, coming in at 3,825 visits which is 2.2 less than what the budget reflects.

The next HHD Board of Directors meeting is slated for Monday, May 18 at 7 p.m. in the upstairs meeting room of the ECU.