The Ochiltree County Hospital District Board of Directors met via video conference on Monday night.
Much of the meeting was focused on financial concerns, chiefly a large payment coming due to the Ranger Roundup Learning Center child care program.
Ochiltree General Hospital CEO Leroy Schaffner told the board the hospital had received a $110,000 bill from Ranger Roundup – significantly higher than expected, due to reported financial losses by Ranger Roundup. He also said the $110,000 bill is just for last year, with another bill for at least $44,000 on the way for this year.
Schaffner said another local company may be signing on to use Ranger Roundup’s services early next year, which may mean lower bills for the hospital in the future.
Schaffner also told the board that the contract with Ranger Roundup is coming due in late May, which would allow the hospital to review the contract some time in February.
The board members chose to table the item to allow Schaffner to get additional information from Ranger Roundup about losses and to request monthly reports from the learning center in the future.
In other business, the board approved payments to Page and Associates, the construction firm responsible for the remodeling of OGH’s obstetrics, surgery, and X-ray facilities. The hospital has paid over $300,000 so far, which Schaffner said put them about halfway to completing the payments.
The board also received a short report from the OGH Healthcare Foundation, spotlighting that the foundation had a little over $3 million in the bank, which included just over $500,000 in pledges. The board also approved
The board also approved tuition fees for the upcoming spring semester for Jonathan Sell, who is in school to become a physician’s assistant. The tuition fees are approximately $15,000 per semester. Sell will pay the hospital district back with 2.5 years of service in Perryton after he graduates.
The board also approved an official resolution from the district noting the steep costs of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on Perryton and Ochiltree County, including 762 confirmed cases, and encouraging all county residents to get the COVID-19 vaccine when it’s available.
Schaffner also told the board that he hoped the hospital would begin receiving vaccines beginning sometime next week.
Board members learned the hospital had hired a new physical therapist and was partnering with Hansford County Hospital in Spearman for a speech therapist.
The hospital board also approved the 2020 EMS subsidies report from the City of Perryton.
Finally, the board was informed of a plumbing blockage underneath the hospital. Bob Jay’s Plumbing will be taking care of the problem, but removing the blockage may require significant effort. The blockage is believed to be about six feet below the building, which will mean digging through the floors in the hospital kitchen.