Murfreesboro Diamond

Quorum court discusses PCMH; April 23, 2008 - No reporter cited

By Heather Gabin
Editor

Buddy Maxey gave the Pike County Quorum Court an update on the status of Pike County Memorial Hospital Monday night.

Maxey told the court that the hospital board had hired Dr. Richard Plant of Clarendon. Maxey explained how hiring Dr. Plant will help alleviate some of the financial burden that the hospital has been experiencing.

According to Maxey, the hospital has been having to staff the emergency room through a staffing agency, that can become very expensive.

“We need one more doctor. It is virtually essential that we hire one more doctor,” said Maxey.

Maxey told the court that the hospital had lost $400,000 last year due to the lack of patient census and the additional cost of the contract staffing service following the loss of the doctors from St. Joseph’s Mercy Medical Clinic in Murfreesboro.

Maxey told the court that the hospital is making payroll and the staff has been cut to the bare minimum, but the facility continues to struggle.

JP Johnny Plyler asked Maxey why the patients from the Murfreesboro Nursing Center are transported to Nashville for hospitalization and if it was not the administrator’s job to recruit patients.

Maxey replied that Pike County Memorial Hospital performs x-rays and lab work for the patients at the Murfreesboro Nursing Center and St. Joseph’s Mercy Medical Clinic. He stated that a doctor is the only one who can admit patients into the hospital, and the nursing center does not use a doctor from Pike County Memorial.

He also said that patients from the nursing center and St. Joseph’s clinic are not always aware that they can choose the hospital that they will be treated at. If the patient does not request Pike County Memorial, doctors that are not on staff with the hospital will send them to Nashville or Hot Springs.

Plyler asked Maxey why the Home Health Care Agency at the hospital was closed.

Maxey said that the license the hospital has to practice home health only covered a 20-mile radius and that medicare cutbacks had severely effected the service of the home health care. The hospital also was rearranging staff members to fill vacancies and the board thought that the home health staff would be more essential in the hospital.

Maxey informed the court that the hospital has been working with another firm for ideas and support for home health, but it had basically became the choice of where would the employees be the most useful.

Maxey told the court that the hospital does help the Pike County Sheriff’s Department with urine and blood screens at a 25% discount to the county. The hospital employee who takes the samples sometimes must testify in court and the hospital compensates the employee for that time.

Maxey said the hospital also provides services to the inmates and if the hospital were to close, the county would be spending more money on services and to pay the officers that escort the prisoners.

Maxey said he would update the court next month on the condition of the hospital and he gave each court member an economic impact study that applies specifically to Pike County Memorial Hospital.

In other business:

Shonna Jordan told the court of the progress that has been made by the Pike County Rescue Unit. Last year the court gave grant money to send Jordan and her husband to a seminar for search and rescue training.

She told the court that the group now includes 45 members from all across Pike County and some members from Newhope. The group includes seven canine handlers, a 4-wheeler club and equine rescue.

The team has had ten successfull call outs this year and are registered to help throughout the U.S. and works with Homeland Security.

The team is centrally based in Kirby and continues to grow. The team will be taking classes in water, diving and swift water rescue and compass classes.

Jordan stated that whenever the team is called out, 95% of the members show up. The 5% that do not are generally at work at the time.

The team is also trained and registered to help in the event of a terrorist attack.

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