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An accident occurred on Tuesday at 12:25 in the morning in Dent County on Highway 32 about four miles west of Salem. According to the highway patrol report, a 2004 Saturn SUV driven eastbound by 28 year-old Ricky Reeves of Salem, lost control of his vehicle and it went off the right side of the roadway where it struck a dirt embankment and overturned. Reeves’ suffered moderate injuries and was transported by ambulance to the Salem Memorial District Hospital. The Saturn was totaled and towed by Whitakers Towing of Salem.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital regular board meeting was held Tuesday evening in the Hospital Library. The Board certified the election results from April 3^rd that showed that Ray Bruno defeated long-time board member Leon Kreisler by a total of five votes. Bruno was not in attendance at the meeting as he had a previous commitment and will be sworn in at the next meeting. District 4 Trustee Joe Hayes then announced that he would be resigning effective April 18^th, 2012, as he will be moving from the boundaries of his district. The board then temporarily reorganized the officers until the June meeting. A. J. Seay will serve as Chairman, Dennis Fiebelman will become Vice-Chairman and Joe Brand will serve as Secretary. Controller Stephanie Wofford stated that for the month of March, there was a loss from operations of $5,110 but after taxes, the hospital had an excess of revenues over expenses of $32,855. Director of Nursing Carol Lacy gave her report for March and there were 70 acute care patients admitted, 949 emergency room visits, 1,882 outpatient registrations, 184 ambulance runs with 185 patients being assessed, 15 surgery cases, 91 home health visits, 11,373 lab tests, 1,097 radiological procedures, 196 CT scans, 27 MRI scans, 19 nuclear med scans, 475 rehab treatments, 226 dialysis treatments and 376 clinical visits. Administrator Dennis Pryor reported that the hospital auxiliary would have a Bar-B-Q on May 11^th for Hospital Week. Pryor also said that the board would have a special day to present awards to the employees during Hospital Week. Lacy gave the Patient Call Light Report for January through March. Staff members are present in each patient’s room an average of 41 times per day with an average time of 6 minutes and 40 seconds per event. In the construction update, the new sidewalk project is almost completed as required by the state. He also said that painting is to begin next week in the Patient Waiting Area. The Inpatient and Emergency Room Patient Satisfaction survey results were discussed. Thee were 182 Emergency Room responses and 28 Inpatient responses submitted and the hospital continues to provide outstanding service in most areas. Kasey Lucas went over the Electronic Medical Record conversion as the Medhost PDF Pointer will not work as the hospital originally thought it would, but it will be functional in a different way once some “tweaks” are made. The bylaws of the Foundation Program were approved in March, but there has not been 30 days since that meeting for the board to re-approve the by-laws, so they will be re-approved at the May meeting. A total of 35 patients used Tele-Health during the month and the Finance Committee will meet on the first day of May to discuss the budget. The board approved the budgeted purchase of two scanners for the Family Health Clinic for $258 from Tiger Direct, three 22” LCD monitors for Information Systems from Tiger Direct for $380, an All-in-One printer, scanner and copier for $285 for Administration from Quill, and a copier for Acute Care from Ikon for the state contract price of $5,509. Non-budgeted items approved by the board were a commercial microwave from Central Restaurant for $297, and the Public Health Interface from CPSI for $5,000 that will work with state and local health departments. The board then went into closed session.

The Salem R-80 Board of Education will conduct their monthly meeting on Thursday, April 19^th at the district administrative offices boardroom starting at 6:00 pm. After approval of the agenda and communications, Superintendent Cindy Rumpf will welcome the new Board members, address the MSBA Regional Meeting and also present an MSBA video update. There will be a facilities update and the Board will address Health Insurance rates. In new business, the Board will approve meal prices for the 2012/2013 school year, set tuition rates for 2012/2013 and consider a 2012/2013 budget. The Board will then consider the new support staff  salary schedule, extending all salary schedules, as well as making changes to the Random Drug Testing Policy. The Board will declare surplus property, consider the purchase of a new sound system and a lease for the Walking Trail at the Upper Elementary and then address resignations. The Board will then adjourn and move into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing personnel and student issues. The monthly meeting of the Salem R-80 Board of Education is open to the public.

The Dent County Soil & Water Conservation District will be holding their Board of Supervisor Election and Open House today at the Dent County Soil & Water Conservation office located at 1012 East Scenic Rivers BLVD. Office hours for the election will be from Noon until 6:00 pm. Be sure to stop by the office and cast your vote. Refreshments will be served throughout the day.

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