Hospital Expansion Making Progress

The Kearney County Health Services Board of Trustees met on Wednesday, October 26, and heard an update on construction for the ongoing renovation. The foundation is 75% poured and the foundation is expected to be done in two weeks. Steel is expected to arrive on site the second week of November and the skeleton for the addition is planned to be erected by the end of November.
There are plans to renovate the ambulance driveway to align with the rest of the addition. It was also recommended that the roof over the emergency room be raised to avoid collection of snow, as it would sit lower than the rest of the building. After this report, the board approved a motion to alter the builder’s risk insurance, per recommendations brought to the board. Randy Hoffman of Seim Johnson presented the 2011 fiscal year audited financials. The audit staff consisted of Hoffman, Jess Paisley and Samantha Schuett. They made nine audit adjustments and one passed audit adjustment. Hoffman recommended the board put questions posed to the chief financial officer into the minutes for future meetings as a matter of accountability.
He also recommended the board request construction project expenses broken out in order to recoup depreciation expense in a timely manner. . The hospital’s total margin for the fiscal year was 11.8%. Days cash on hand (representing the days on which the hospital had enough cash available to pay all of their debts) increased by 42%. Patient days skyrocketed from 630 to 917 in the past year.

For more, read The Minden Courier