Edition 19
Road Construction:
We are officially one week away from the start of road construction. We sent out our public March Newsletter to our email subscribers and on Facebook, telling patients what they should expect. The summary version is that access to the main entrance and parking is going to be more challenging. We are not losing a ton of parking spots, but we will miss the close parking for Rehab and Clinic patients along Whitcomb. I also expect the front main entrance to the hospital to be congested with drop-offs, EMS, and people looking for parking.
To make this as easy as possible we need all employees to avoid parking in the areas highlighted in pink which will be reserved for patients. The green stars represent drop-off zones. Red lines show road closures, and the green arrow is a temporary crosswalk.
Parking will be most difficult Monday-Friday 8-5 when the clinics and other scheduled outpatient services are running. If you are working nights, you can continue parking as usual unless we notice patients having trouble locating a spot.
Okay, fine, but where should I park?
Glad you asked! The locations in yellow are the closest options. For the lower lot on Whitcomb it will require using a temporary access from First Street.
For those that are able to I’d invite anyone to join me in walking to work either from your house if you are close, or from elsewhere in town. The more vehicles we can keep out of the immediate vicinity the better.
Keep in mind that Western Ave will be the detour route again and will be much busier than usual.
Cerner:
By this time next month we will have just survived the first few days of a new EHR. These last few weeks are going to go by super fast, and already the teams that are working on the transition have made major progress. Thank you to all of the folks putting in the work now to help this go as smoothly as possible. We are continuing to make progress completing the Learning Journeys but if you havne’t gotten a chance, please make sure to login and get onboard.
Financial Troubles:
As I shared in my last board meeting recap, and as you have probably heard in the news, hospitals, including ours, face significant financial challenges. Last year we struggled with lower volumes than our budget, and even as we controlled expenses we still landed in negative territory. Our volumes have been better so far in 2025, but with both the state and federal governments looking for cost savings, healthcare is at risk of funding cuts. We are already expecting the loss of a supplemental payment to Medicaid, which will create a $1M deficit in our budget.
As we wait for the potential change to our funding to get sorted out our focus will continue to be on serving our local communities and being the best option for those needing care. Thank you for everything you do that contributes to our success.
Guess what I gave my mother-in-law for her birthday???