Pace reports better than anticipated result to Colorado Option bill

The Colorado Option bill has been a topic of discussion at several Haxtun Health Board of Directors meetings over the past few months. At a meeting held in late June, Chief Executive Officer Dewane Pace told board members the bill was signed into law by Governor Jared Polis.

“Through many discussions, meetings and testifying sessions, this bill has changed to now be less harmful to small hospitals,” Pace said.

House Bill 21-1232 was signed into law the morning of June 16. The bill mandates a phased-in approach to an ultimate decrease in insurance premiums of 15 percent over a three-year period beginning 2023.

“The rates paid to small rural hospitals, like ours, have been maintained at an acceptable level and our hospital should be OK,” Pace told the Board. “Through our collaborative efforts with the Eastern Plains Healthcare Consortium and the Colorado Hospital Association, our concerns were heard and our hospital is protected from what started out as a potentially devastating proposal for us.”

Pace also said the true savings should come from larger system hospitals along the Front Range. Those hospitals, he said, have higher costs and charges and should be able to take a haircut, as Kim Bimstefer, Head of the Healthcare Policy and Finance Department, put it.

Other good news, Pace reported, is that Haxtun Health ranks in the top three percent of hospitals, nationwide for patient satisfaction for “Recommend the Hospital,” according to the latest Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems. Of the 2,522 hospitals across the country, Haxtun Health ranked in the 97th percentile, or top three percent. When compared to 245 other Critical Access Hospitals, Haxtun Health ranked in the top 96th percentile, equaling the top four percent.

Pace also gave an update on the ongoing efforts to re-open the Fleming Clinic. He said the newly renovated clinic will open in July.

“We are excited about the brand new clinic that is soon to be seeing patients in Fleming,” the CEO said. “The look and feel of this clinic along with the expanded possibilities for Haxtun Health and the services we will be able to offer to those we serve are a very positive step for us.”

The remodel at the clinic in Fleming was made possible with grant funds from the Colorado Health Foundation and Department of Local Affairs.

“We will now have the newest (and best) clinic in Northeast Colorado,” said Pace.

Throughout the hour-long meeting, members of the Haxtun Health administration team took turns giving reports to board members. In her report, Chief Financial Officer Joleen Stroyek said total operating expenses were flat compared to the budget. Year-to-date gross patient revenue, as of May 31, is $6,101,000, a total of five percent over budget. Net income for the month came in at $158,000.

According to her statistics, the average in-patient daily census, for month ending May 31, came in a .8 or 25 total patient days compared to budget of 21. In-patient days were 19 percent over budget for the month and 14 percent over budget year to date.

Swing bed, a program Haxtun Health has given much focus over the past few months, had an average daily census of 2.5 or 77 total patient days. That number is up 16 compared to budget figures.

The Extended Care Unit had an average daily census of 16.7, 519 days, just under budget of 18.8. Those numbers are negative 11 percent for the month and 20 percent under budget for the year.

May saw a total of 311 visits for the clinic in Haxtun and 2,962 for the year; those figures are 21 percent under budget for the moth and eight percent under budget year-to-date.

Chief Nursing Officer Jessie Cochran gave members an update to the current mask wearing policy on the Haxtun Health campus. She said all employees who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 are no longer required to wear a mask. Same goes for visitors, with the exception of the ECU. All visitors to the ECU are expected to wear masks unless proof of vaccination is provided.

Staff and visitors who are not yet fully vaccinated are expected to wear masks while on the Haxtun Health campus.

Chief of Staff, Dr. Ben Stephenson, said positive COVID-19 cases are declining, even the number of patients being tested is declining as well.

The following credentials were approved: David Spring, MD, locum, family medicine; Amy Seinfeld, DO, family medicine; Gary White, MD, consulting, radiology; Linda Miketic, MD, consulting, radiology; Seth Andrews, DO, consulting, radiology; Cody Branch, MD, consulting, radiology; Shane Rowan, MD, consulting, cardiology; Charles Frankum, MD, surgery.