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Texas County Memorial Hospital has inked a contract with Amit Shah, MD, a family medicine physician from Nixa, board members heard at their monthly meeting on Tuesday.
Shah learned of the position through Charlie Rasmussen, DO. Upon visiting the hospital, he decided it was a place where he would like to practice medicine part-time.
Shah received his undergraduate degree at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL. He completed the family medicine residency at Southern Illinois University in Decatur.
“Dr. Shah will practice family medicine at the Medical Office Complex in Houston several days each month along with seeing patients in the hospital,” Linda Pamperien, TCMH chief financial officer said. “He has already proven to be a great addition to our medical staff, and we are very excited to have him at Texas County.”
Shah specializes in adult patients providing care for routine health as well as managing healthcare for patients with multiple chronic conditions. Shah is accepting new patients at the TCMH Medical Complex in Houston which is already taking appointments for Shah.
Stace Holland, the new chief executive officer at TCMH attended the meeting as well as Wes Murray, the interim CEO that worked at TCMH before Holland’s arrival. Murray’s interim work ended on November 30.
“It has been an honor and privilege to serve TCMH and our community as the interim CEO while a permanent leader was sought,” Murray said. “I am happy to pass the baton to Stace as I firmly believe he will do a tremendous job for TCMH and our community.”
Murray said that he and Holland recently attended the Community Improvement District (CID) meeting. During the meeting, the CID board approved $105,350.62 for expenditures including $34,000 for an anesthesiology boom and $70,000 for surgical lights for the new surgery center at the hospital.
Murray stated that Holland is replacing a former CID board member and will now serve on the CID board.
April Crites, TCMH quality and risk management director, presented the recent Centers for Medicaid Services (CMS) colonoscopy measures. The CMS data provides quality data regarding patients that undergo low-risk colonoscopies. She said the data compiled from CMS reflects that TCMH ranks the same as state and national averages.
“We have had many compliments from patients regarding their experience during their colonoscopy procedures,” Crites said. “Dr. Tidmore has been a huge asset to the surgery department, and we are very pleased with his professionalism.”
The TCMH Healthcare Foundation received a $6,000 grant from the Timmons Foundation. Murray noted that the funds will be used towards the purchase of a barium swallow chair in the hospital’s rehabilitation department. The chair provides a safe way to analyze swallowing problems in patients who are unable to sit up on their own and reduces the risk of falling.
Murray expressed the hospital’s appreciation for the Timmons Foundation which has donated over $136,000 to the TCMH Healthcare Foundation since 2008.
Pamperien presented the financial report for the month of October highlighting an increase in outpatient revenues of $392,973 over budgeted expectations. The outpatient revenues were primarily through the emergency, radiology, and laboratory departments.
“Our inpatient volumes did take another hard hit this month and were down $929,549, a 51.4 percent decrease from our budgeted expectations,” Pamperien reported.
Hospital expenses were down for the month of October by $43,488, but TCMH ended the month of October with a negative bottom line of $324,383 and a year-to-date loss of $3,923,548.
Texas County Commissioners and Scott Lindsey, Texas County Sheriff, were in attendance to discuss the current jail contract. The board agreed to extend the current contract for another month until December 27 while Lindsey looks at options and plans the department’s budget for the upcoming year.
Present at the meeting were Pamperien; Murray; Holland; Crites; John Casey; Scott Long; Doyle Heiney; Treena Heiney; Scott Lindsey; Helania Wulff, public relations, marketing, and physician recruiting director; Courtney Owens, chief nursing officer; Tricia Benoist, MD, chief of staff; board members, Jay Loveland; Joleen Durham; Jim Perry, OD; Steve Pierce; and Allan Branstetter.
The next meeting of the TCMH board of trustees is Tuesday, December 27 at 12 p.m. in the hospital board room.