Craig Daily Press / Hospital board approves new equipment

August 1, 2008

The hospital board:

• Received a presentation of 30 shoeboxes from the Moffat County 4-H council. The boxes contained donated materials collected by the group for hospitalized children. George Rohrich, hospital chief executive officer, commended the group for their work, referring to the donations as “kid-tested, kid-approved.”

• Approved, 7-0, the reappointment of a staff member to associate staff

• Approved, 5-2, the policy presented by the credentials committee to grant privileges to physicians based on work done beyond their core training. The policy will apply to all medical staff, including family practitioners and surgeons. Dr. Larry Kipe, committee member, said the policy will help TMH recruit new physicians. “It can be nebulous for people seeking new positions if a hospital is unclear on their privileges,” Kipe said.

• Discussed the site leases and housing and urban development covenants for the hospital’s new facilities.

Craig — The technological components of a hospital are as essential as the human element. In order to best facilitate the needs of patients, the medical technology needs to be updated as often as necessary.

At its Wednesday meeting, The Memorial Hospital board voted unanimously to replace and renew certain medical instruments. The hospital will purchase a new anesthesia machine and a surgical laser.

The replacement of the anesthesia machine is a precautionary measure because of the current unit’s obsolescence.

“The machine works fine,” Barry Bergman, TMH chief financial officer said. “The problem is that machines become obsolete every other day because the companies come out with new models.”

The machine in question has been outdated since December 2006. This was not a problem until service provider Bell Medical depleted their supply of replacement parts.

Originally, the purchase was scheduled to coincide with the opening of the hospital’s new facilities. The necessity of the issue moved the deal sooner.

“We had already budgeted for it, but the vendors drew the line,” Bergman said.

The hospital will buy the new machine through GE Healthcare.

The new laser — used for treatment of kidney, bladder and uretal stones — will reportedly be more efficient than its predecessor, from a financial standpoint.

Bergman said the unit they plan to purchase will cost half as much than the current laser, which is leased through supplier LASErent.

The size of the new laser also will cause much less of a space issue than the current one, the usage volume of which barely justifies its presence for urological emergencies.

“The laser isn’t used much,” he said. “Some years, it’s only used five times. We really only keep it around just in case. It’s more of a safety thing.”

Besides the larger hardware, the hospital board also approved the extension of the lease on Milliman software. The medical computer program has been a facet of TMH medical staff since 2003 and will now continue until 2013.

“It’s a program that can help doctors with criteria specific to a diagnosis,” chief quality officer Beka Warren said.

“It’s not absolute for them, because ultimately, they have the final say in treatment. It’s more of a guideline for the best ways to handle patients, as well as their insurance.”

Warren said the program is employed by Medicare, as well as many hospitals across the country.

“I think it’s very effective in helping define why a patient should be in a hospital,” she said.