General Surgeon Signs with TCMH

Sherry Phippen, MD, a board-certified general surgeon, has signed a three-year contract with Texas County Memorial Hospital, board members heard at their monthly on Tuesday.

Phippen brings over 30 years of experience in general surgery to TCMH, with 23 of those years practicing in Rolla.

Phippen is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. She attended medical school at New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY. She completed her residency at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA.

Beginning in August, Phippen will work full-time in the surgery department and provide inpatient and outpatient general surgery services at TCMH. She will see patients of all ages in the outpatient surgery clinic in the hospital and work alongside Bryan Eck, MD.

Phippen will provide full-range general surgery focusing on abdominal surgery, colonoscopies, diagnostic esophagogastroduodenoscopies, and port placements. She will provide open and laparoscopic hernia and gallbladder surgery.

Phippen and her husband, Steven, have been married for 34 years, and live in the Rolla area. They have three adult children – Marissa resides in New York City; Jack and Sophia live in Kansas City.

“We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Phippen to our medical team at TCMH,” Bill Bridges, TCMH chief executive officer, said. “Some members of our medical staff have worked with Dr. Phippen in the past, and some area residents may already be patients of Dr. Phippen. We believe she will be an excellent fit for our patients, the hospital, and the community.”

In new business, Bridges discussed a recent legislative outreach effort on behalf of TCMH. “I have reached out to both Senators and our Congressman to advocate on behalf of the hospital,” Bridges said. “The challenges our hospital faces are unique, and they are growing.”

“More rural hospitals are closing across the country,” Bridges said. He noted that grant funding has become increasingly uncertain, despite being critical for maintaining and upgrading the equipment essential for patient care.

Bridges highlighted recent patient cases that demonstrate TCMH’s vital role in the community. “A mother whose condition worsened after delivery received lifesaving care and was safely transferred to a tertiary facility,” Bridges explained. “Just yesterday, a 43-year-old stroke patient received immediate and effective treatment and was stabilized before transfer. Without TCMH, these stories could have ended very differently.”

Bridges expressed his gratitude for any legislative support that recognizes independent rural hospitals that operate separately from larger healthcare systems. “We operate on tight margins, without the benefit of system-wide subsidies,” he added.

April Crites, TCMH quality and risk management, presented patient satisfaction scores and Medicare Spending per Beneficiary (MSPB) data to board members.

“Our scores for inpatient care, the emergency department, and outpatient ambulatory surgery have remained steady,” Crites said. “The emergency department showed an increase of over two percent in the top box score and a seven percent improvement in its overall percentile ranking. We are pleased with their performance.”

Crites reported that the hospital received the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services value-based purchasing measure report for the MSPB. “For fiscal year 2026, which includes the performance year of 2025, our score was 0.92. This represents a decrease from last year’s score of 0.95, reflecting a three percent improvement,” Crites said.

Crites explained that MSPB considers several factors affecting Medicare spending, including the patient’s age, health status, and geographic payment differences.

“Any MSPB score below one is considered good, indicating that TCMH is less expensive than the national average,” Crites said. “About 10 to 25 percent of hospitals nationwide fall within our score range. TCMH is four percent lower than the state average and approximately six percent lower than the national average.”

Courtney Owens, TCMH chief nursing officer, summarized the initiatives aimed at honoring and celebrating Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) and technicians during the third week of June. Christian Neal, a CNA working in the medical-surgical and intensive care departments at TCMH, was honored with the Sunflower Award.

“Christian received two nominations from patients for his exceptional people skills and compassionate care,” Owens said. “His contributions to our medical-surgical department are invaluable, and he is entirely deserving of this award.”

Bridges informed board members that Ann Hamilton, the radiology director who has dedicated 26 years to TCMH, is retiring. Additionally, Karen Geer, the maintenance secretary with 33 years of service at TCMH, is also retiring. Both of their last working days will be on June 30.

“We will miss both of these employees and their significant contributions to our healthcare facility,” Bridges said.

Linda Pamperien, TCMH chief financial officer, presented the May financials, which reflected a decrease of $435,128 in overall revenues from budgeted monthly expectations. Pamperien attributed the drop to a decrease in inpatient volumes.  May inpatient admissions were at 78, which is up nine admissions from the same time frame in 2024. There have been 421 admissions year-to-date.

The financial report reflected that the hospital’s profit/loss report showed a negative bottom line for May, with a decrease of $345,985 and a year-to-date loss of $625,495. The earnings before interest, depreciation, and amortization (EBIDA) for the respective month were negative at $80,518 and the year-to-date EBIDA was positive at $695,965.

Present at the meeting were Bridges; Crites; Owens; Pamperien; Helania Wulff, public relations and marketing director; Christopher Baldwin, MD, chief of staff; and board members, Joleen Durham; Jennifer Hugenot; and Ross Richardson. Jerri Crump joined via teleconference.

The next meeting of the TCMH board of trustees is Tuesday, July 22, at 12 p.m. in the hospital board room.