Health Care Center Committee

PRESENT: Arthur Carlson; Larry Volz; Linda Borleske; Tom Bychinski; Valerie McAuliffe; Jeanne Leeck, Acting Administrator; Catherine Georgeson, Business Office Manager; and Katie Pope, Personnel Manager. Bill McClary, Maintenance Engineer and John Keefe of Keefe & Associates were present for a portion of the meeting.

1. Called to order at 9:00 a.m. by Art Carlson. The open meeting law requirements were met.
2. Motion by Borleske, second by Bychinski to adopt the amended agenda.
   Motion carried.
3. Motion by McAuliffe, second by Volz to approve the minutes.
   Motion carried.
4. Introduction of Acting Administrator. Art introduced Jeanne Leeck, S.W., Acting Administrator, to the board.
5. Communications. Jeanne read a thank you note received from the family of Jackie Nightengale.
6. Review and Consideration of Resolution and certificate commending Helen Palm for 35 years of service to the HCC. Jeanne read the resolution commending Helen for her years of service as a CNA and Housekeeper at the Health Care Center
   Motion by Bychinski, second by Volz to approve the Resolution commending Helen Palm for 35 years of service.
   Motion carried
7. Discussion and Consideration of Resolution to repair boiler. Bill discussed the need for emergency repairs for boiler #2 done in December and further explained the need for repair of Boiler #3 next month. The boiler is a back up so repairs can wait and the company agreed to discount the repairs in February.
   Motion by Bychinski, second by Borleske to approve the Resolution and expenditure for repairs done to boiler #3.
   Motion carried.
8. Review and consideration of recent donations. Jeanne read the donations received for last month.
   Motion by Volz, second by McAuliffe to approve the donations for December in the amount of $2227.50
   Motion carried.
9. Administrator's report. Jeanne began her report with a brief biographical sketch. December was very busy at the HCC with many community members volunteering their time to come and entertain and visit our residents. We had our annual Christmas program for residents along with the usual birthday parties. Many staff participated in the Secret Santa program and the Holiday Bazaar which was again very successful. For the first time this year we also had a family tree decorating party. The 5th floor had a great holiday dinner at Longley's Restaurant and a resident Secret Santa. We thank the community for their generosity both with gifts and time spent volunteering . We are busy preparing to open the beds we received back from the bed bank on January 1. We have the respiratory flu in the building and have posted signs in the lobby informing visitors. We have filled the Staff Development Coordinator position and have made progress on filling the Medical Director's position. The defibrillator is here and Juli Brandt is arranging the training for nursing staff. This gift was possible by the generosity of memorials given for Dr. Vergara. Through a series of Communication meetings, the management staff addressed some of the issues brought out in the staff survey. Some of the suggestions were very good and we are working towards implementing them. Will give the board a copy of The Communicator - the facility newsletter, at the next meeting. Jeanne also gave members a copy of a holiday letter she will give to all staff. We will be having a presentation at Department Head meetings by each department to educate other staff on their particular duties. Tommy suggested having Department Heads attend board meetings to present a brief summary of their job duties. All agreed that would be helpful.
10. Personnel Department Report. Katie reviewed the status of job vacancies and employee recruitment activities that have occurred over the past month. She also highlighted other general personnel activities.
11. Review and Approval of Vouchers/Receipts Review. Catherine reviewed the invoices and receipts for the month, highlighting items of interest.
    Motion by McAuliffe, second by Borleske to approve the invoices in the amount of $121,064.35.
    Motion carried.
12. Review and Consideration of Financial Statements. Catherine reviewed the financial statements for the past month highlighting items of interest.
13. Business Office Report. Catherine indicated that the PES software still isn't working correctly so the resident care revenues are lower than normal. She also presented preliminary write-off information to the board. The official request will be presented next month as an agenda item.
14. Discussion and Consideration of contracted physical plant and market/feasibility study. Mr. John Keefe gave the presentation to the board. He indicated that the focus of this meeting would be to further explain how we go through this process to ensure that they meet our expectations in the time frame allotted. The formal contract will be drawn up by Mr. Keefe and sent to Jeanne by early next week. It will then go to Corp. Counsel for approval. They intend to project operational costs with several scenarios including a new facility on a new site, new facility on the same site or keeping the status quo. The question of whether or not the county should stay in the Nursing Home business will also be addressed. All options will be presented as well as their recommendation. General community support for the HCC will be assessed through phone surveys and interviews. The cost for the surveys is included in the bid amount. It would be helpful if a radio/newspaper spot could be presented before the survey begins to help the community accept it as legitimate. Originally the time frame was April however the company felt that an extension would be helpful. A May 1, 2004 deadline was agreed on. Mr. Keefe asked if we would like a general assessment by the architect or a more detailed analysis. The detailed analysis was included in the proposal so the board felt we should proceed with that. The board felt that we will need the hard data. Mr. Keefe was asked and agreed to make a short presentation to the full County Board by way of introduction. The HCC staff will also be kept informed through video tape or live presentations as the process moves forward. A meeting with Jeanne and the other management staff here to discuss data collection issues will be necessary. Discussion was held regarding other community people to involve in the "Blue Ribbon" committee. Each board member agreed to bring some names of interested parties to the next meeting for discussion. Further meetings will be special meetings and not a part of the monthly governing board meetings. With the signing of the contract a work plan will be established.
15. Next Meeting . February 5, March 4, at 9:00 a.m. and April 8 at 8:30 a.m.

Motion by Bychinski, second by Borleske to adjourn.
Motion carried.

Meeting was adjourned at 11:30.

Respectfully Submitted: Arthur Carlson, Chairperson