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The Salem Board of Aldermen held a special meeting at the City Hall Council Chambers Tuesday afternoon. Aldermen Phillip Giacomelli was unable to attend the special meeting. The board heard from City Administrator Ray Walden about an invoice from Fletcher-Reinhardt for 2590 feet of 10-14 electrical wire for the electric department for $2.36 a foot with a total cost of $6,119.97. Walden said this is a stock item and was budgeted. The board approved the purchase. The board then discussed and reviewed Bill #3284 that is settlement agreement with CenturyLink for the city to recover and receive unpaid business license taxes totaling $86,785.84. After some discussion about whether to include a payment to the Missouri Municipal League as part of the settlement, the board voted not to include the Missouri Municipal League in the settlement, but could make a payment to them at a later time once they know what the attorney fees come to and any court costs that may be charged. The board approved the bill with a 3-0 vote. The meeting was then adjourned.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors met for the regular meeting Tuesday evening at the hospital library. In the summary of operations, Chief Financial Officer Becky Cunningham reported that in October the hospital had a gain from operations of $58,146 with an excess of revenues over expenses of  $59,375. Inpatient admissions were below budget at 46 while outpatient revenues were above budget by about $180,000. During the month, there was a decrease in cash of $18,327 while days in account receivables went from 54 days in September to 53 days. Days cash on hand at the hospital stands at 60 days while the average for a critical access hospital is 67 days. Director of Nursing Carol Lacy reported during the month there were 847 emergency room visits with an average turnaround time of 111 minutes. Also during the month, there were 225 ambulance runs with 228 patients being assessed and 176 patients transported to the hospital, 28 surgery cases, 1,811 outpatient registrations, 303 home health visits, 8,099 lab tests, 1,033 radiological procedures, 215 CT scans, 16 MRI scans, 2 nuclear med scans, 476 rehab treatments, 198 dialysis treatments and 344 clinical visits of which 60 were for cardiology. Hospital Administrator Dennis Pryor said the hospital is having problems with their nuclear med machine and they are analyzing the data as to whether they should buy their own or lease another piece of equipment. In the flu update, Lacy said there have been two confirmed cases since October 20^th, but the flu season doesn’t really get started until December based on historical data. Pryor stated the Hospital Auxiliary had 8 members at their November meeting at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory and discussed the “bring a guest” lunch meeting on December 2^nd at the hospital library where all attendees will get a tour of the hospital. Pryor said one doctor visited the hospital in November as well as with board members and other guests. The visit went well and another visit is scheduled for December. Pryor said another doctor was supposed to visit in November but his father had emergency surgery and he will reschedule his visit. Assistant Hospital Administrator Kasey Lucas gave the Electronic Medical Records report and said they are testing the MU Stage 2 Flexibility Rule before applying for Medicaid reimbursement. Joe Brand reported the SMDH Foundation Board met and talked about the Montauk 5K run in April and another banquet fundraiser for next autumn. Pryor reported the silent auction, dinner, pledges and donations helped raise $40,000 for the foundation. Mary Lou Brooks reported the hospital Ebola training has now been completed and all policies and procedures are up to date. The screening continues at registration and the emergency room. The board approved consolidating the SMDH Rural Health Clinics, as Dr. Prince will move to Physicians Office Building III on March 2, 2015 with Dr. Gulley to follow when the construction is finished. This will provide cost savings, provide office staff efficiency, combine patient medical records and more. The name will remain the SMDH Family Health Clinic. The board approved the budgeted purchase of the Nursing Simplex-Grinnell Call System from Tyco for $94,146 that will be installed in January and payment will not be made until the installation is complete. The board also approved the non-budgeted purchase of a new desk for the new IT Coordinator from Automated Business System for $1,146, the purchase of 18 Medline TheraTrech 7500 Mattresses for Long-Term Care from Medline for $6,970 and the purchase of a bariatric stretcher for the EMS for $8,664 from Stryker. The board then went into closed session.

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