Hospital board approves purchases

Greater Regional Hospital board scheduled a public hearing for 6:05 p.m. Feb. 24 for its county budget. There is no proposal to increase the tax asking, a total of $1.1 million, which has been the same amount for the past 23 years.

The hearing was scheduled during the board’s meeting Monday. The Feb. 24 date is the board’s next regularly scheduled meeting.

Katie Evans, representing the surgery department, requested an additional ultrasound. Scheduling with other departments has made it a challenge over the years using the existing ultrasound. “It’s covering four different areas,” she said about its popularity. Evans fears the ultrasound may not be readily available during an emergency.

Evans found a bid from Terason for the same model the hospital has for $35,430. The board approved the bid.

A computer server upgrade for surgery and medical records was approved. A cost was not part of the discussion.

Approval was given to replace a certain section of the campus’ sewer line for an estimated cost of $131,781. A work date has not yet been scheduled.

In other news...

Chief Quality Officer Kim Wheeler said department managers have noticed workplace violence. She defined it as when patients or a patient’s family members are upset. “Our people are dealing with that on a daily basis and it’s not new in health care,” she said. “They are still trying to figure out what to do with staff to help limit that.”