Fleming Clinic opens after remodel; additional projects progress

Haxtun Health’s Fleming Clinic is up and running. Over the past few months, the Fleming Clinic underwent a complete remodel and opened to patients on Monday, Aug. 2. Plans are to host a ribbon cutting and open house later this month.

Renovations and expansion of the Fleming Clinic were made possible by grants from the Colorado Health Foundation and the Department of Local Affairs. As Haxtun Health Chief Executive Officer Dewane Pace reported to Board of Directors during a July 26 meeting, the clinic is now the newest clinic in northeast Colorado.

Pace said the Fleming Clinic will be open five days a week and Haxtun Health is accepting new patients, same-day appointments and seeing patients of all ages in Fleming.

“We are planning an official grand opening event for the week of Aug. 16,” he added.

In addition to the update on the Fleming Clinic, Pace also gave board members an overview of the main street clinic project, currently underway. Pace said community members will begin to notice changes this month as crews work on excavation and filling in the large holes left after demolition. He said concrete and steel work would follow thereafter with hopes of having the building weathered in before winter sets in.

“We are thankful for the grant and Federal relief funds that we have received to make this new clinic possible,” he added.

Haxtun Health purchased the old Smith Hardware building last fall and tore down the building this spring. Plans are to construct a new building in its place that will include clinic space as well as space for other services.

In addition to construction in Fleming and at the main street clinic site, Haxtun Health’s main campus is also under a large infrastructure project. Pace said the main hospital campus will see a flurry of activity over the next several months with storage containers on site, heavy equipment, contractors and workers all working to replace and shore up Haxtun Health’s infrastructure.

“This involves new lighting, air conditioning, heating, roofing, ceilings, electric and more,” Pace told board members in the late July meeting. “The goal is to breathe new life into our existing building, making sure that it will be in good shape for years to come. This is significantly less expensive than building a new hospital and from an infrastructure perspective that is essentially what we will have when this is competed.”

Grant dollars from the Department of Local Affairs made the project happen, Pace added.

In reports to the Board, Chief of Staff Dr. Benjamin Stephenson said that over the last month, Haxtun Health has seen no positive COVID tests. Additionally, the local doctor said the medical staff team is excited to have Dr. Amy Seinfeld join the staff over the past month.

“Already in her first week here, she has experienced a full schedule,” he said. “We think she is a wonderful addition to our medical staff and are excited to see her practice blossom here.”

Chief Nursing Officer Jessie Cochran said that while the local lab has seen little to no cases of COVID over the past month, the main campus is keeping with the same plan as for masks and vaccinations.

Visitors are asked to wear a mask unless they have been fully vaccinated and provided a copy of their vaccination record. The Extended Care Unit population, she said, is the most vulnerable, so a high priority is to protect those who have not been vaccinated.

As for financials, Chief Financial Officer Joleen Stroyek told board members that Clifton Larson and Allen conducted a full audit of 2019 and 2020 and that Haxtun Health finances are within accordance with government auditing standards. Stroyek said the audit went well and the impact of COVID and COVID financing were the most substantial items reviewed in the audit.

On the inpatient side of things, the month of June reflected 31 total patient days compared to the budget of 21. Haxtun Health was 47 percent over budget for the month and 19 percent over budget year to date. As for the swing bed, numbers came in a 31 total patient days compared to the budget of 59. Swing bed numbers were 48 percent under budget for the month but 31 percent over budget year to date. The ECU had an average daily census of 17 compared to the budgeted number of 18.8 or 10 percent under budget for the month.

Clinic visits came in at 401 for the month of June, an increase of 23 percent over budget for the month in part due to athlete physicals for the upcoming school year. Total, the Haxtun Clinic has seen 1,915 patients in 2021.

The Haxtun Health Board of Directors meet once a month on the last Monday in the upstairs meeting room of the Extended Care Unit. Until the time change, meetings are at 7 p.m. Once clocks fall back, meetings begin at 6.