Innovis Health and First Care Medical Services talk integration at Annual Meeting
At the Annual Meeting of First Care Medical Services on Monday, January 26th, Bob Overmoe, Chairman of the Board of Trustees talked about an explained in some detail the progress of negotiations with Innovis Health and Essentia Health on the integration process.
The effort to integrate the administration and operation of the Innovis Clinic and First Care Medical Services has been underway for several years; progress was slow until Innovis Health merged with Essentia Health in 2008. That merger gave First Care Medical Services the opportunity to talk seriously about the local integration effort. A task force was formed to study the various options and details of the final merger, which is ongoing.
Overmoe stated that plans for the next two years are to integrate Innovis Clinic with First Care Medical Services, resulting in a common entrance, one admission process, and one set of patient records.
All employees will work for First Care, except the doctors and mid-level practitioners, who will be contracted from Innovis Health. Teh CEO will be hired as an employee of Essentia Health with local First Care Board approval. Other considerations in the future would be private patient rooms and single nursing home rooms and a merging the diagnostic services.
Agreements must meet task force criteria and will require passage by Fosston City Council members and First Care Medical Services corporate members. Before integration becomes final, information will be shared with employees and with members of the community in a public forum. Representatives from Innovis, First Care and Essentia Health will all be in attendance.
Overmoe assured those in attendance that the Board considered this the best move for First Care as they move into the future. "What will healthcare look like in 15 years? The Board has decided if we hitch our wagon to a bigger organization for financial help, training and more services, we will benefit. We intend to continue to offer the best health care possible at the local level. We will always do as much for our patients as we can here, but we will have access to a larger facility to get patients the additional care they may need in a timely fashion," he said.
Overmoe added, "The community will be hearing more about this, and we will try to get you as much information as possible. In the meantime, don't believe coffee talk. Feel free to contact me, Patricia Wangler, or members of the Board of Trustees."
Speaking for Innovis Health, Dr. Charles Winjum said, "Anytime there is change people get nervous. None of our staff will loose their jobs as a result of this merger. I cannot guarantee what will happen because of our economic picture in the country now, but the merger will not dictate a loss of jobs."
"We believe that this merger will be a good thing for this hospital and community. We need electronic records that put our systems together. We will better competitors. We are actively recruiting another family practice doctor, and Innovis Health has been helpful in the recruitment and retention of doctors. We will be welcoming specialists in ENT, Urology and podiatry in 2009," he said.
Patricia Wangler, Chief Executive Officer at First Care, opened her comments with the mission statement, First Care Medical Services exists to provide and coordinate quality health services to improve the health of residents of Northwest Minnesota.
Wangler went on to explain how First Care is successfully carrying out that mission. One important measure of First Care sucess is the overall patient satisfaction score. First Care was rated as "excellent" by 82% of people surveyed, which includes scores from Long Term Care, Home Health and Hospital. That score is up from 71% in 2007. "All employees are working toward improvement, and since 2005 there has been a continual upward trend," she said.
Along with patient satisfaction, First Care has seen improvement in employee satisfaction. On a scale of 1-5 First Care employees' satisfaction score was 4.3, up from 4.1 in 2007.
Quality measurements at First Care continue to improve. The First Care Hospital scored 100% in 14 out of 22 hospital quality health measures and in the 90th percentile or above on 6 of the remaining 8 hospital quality health measures. The hospital was also recognized in Minnesota as one of a very few hospitals to implement all four safety initiatives: Safe Skin, Safety from Falls, Safe Count and Safe Site.
The Nursing Home received 5 our of 5 stars in quality measures, 4 out of 5 stars from health inspections in 2008 and nursing home staffing received 3 out of 5 stars. The nursing was recognized in 2008 as one of the top 10% in the nation.
Wangler announced that First Care Medical Services Home Health was recently named to the HomeCare Elite, a compilation of the most successful Medicare-certified home health care providers in the United States. This annual review identifies the top 25% of agencies, ranked by an analysis of performance measure in quality outcomes, quality improvement and financial perofrmance.
Also noted by Wangler is the community benefit provided by First Care in 2008. Charity Care at First Care amounted to $143,505. First Care has written off $312,180 of bad debt, and offered $136,213 of volunteer staff time and service to the community.
Demonstrating improvement in service to the community, Wangler reported an increase in newborns delivered at First Care, general surgical procedures, emergency room visits, First Care Clinics (Fosston, Oklee and Erskine) visits and nursing home days. Orthopedic surgical procedures have been on a continual climb since 2006.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Kim Wilson, Vice President of the First Care Medical Services Foundation, gave an update of the Foundation. The Foundation had been inactive during the Capital Campaign, but after the successful conclusion of the Campaign, members decided to reactivate the Foundation. During 2008 committee reviewed the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws and elected officers, which were installed in October. She read the new mission statement: First Care Medical Services Foundation exists to develop relationships in order to secure gifts that will support the work of First Care Medical Services.
Wilson presented Dean Vikan with a plaque thanking him for serving six years as chairman of the community and for his exceptional example and commitment to the First Care Medical Services Capital Campaign Committee and Foundation. "Thank you for your time, your personal donations and your leadership in bringing about the completion of the project," she said.
Darryn McGarvey, senior auditor with Larson Allen, stated that the main purpose of the audit was to express an opinion on the financial statements of First Care. The auditors expressed and "Unqualified Opinion" on the finanical statemtns, which is the highest level of opinion they can express. Mr. McGarvey reviewed the finanical status of fiscal year 2008. First Care did end fiscal year 2008 with a negative 1.3% operating margin. Hospitals across Minnesota are struggling with depressed operating profitability due to the constraints on state and federal budgets, deteriorating payer reimbursement, increases in the number of uninsured and investment losses. First Care is focusing on maintaining market share, reducing costs and increasing usage of services in efforts to achieve a positive financial margin in 2009.
Election of the Board of Trustees
Peggy Ystenes was recommended and approved for a third 3-year term on the First Care Board of Trustees. Peggy is from Winger and is the Sr. Vice President at Ultima Bank where she has been employed for the past 29 years. Larry LePier completed his third 3 -year term on the Board and, per the bylaws, would not be eligible for another term. However, his fellow Board Members recommended his tour be extended so he could remain on the board until local integration is complete. In order for this to happen, Article Three, Section 2 of the Bylaws would have to be waived or rewritten to extend LePier's tour. An amendment to the bylaws was approved by voice vote and a second motion approved extending LePier's tour to provide continuity for the local integration effort.