DAYTON—In his report to the Hospital Board of Commissioners on Sept. 8, Columbia County Health System CEO Shane McGuire said active marketing by his marketing team is paying off in getting patients to utilize Dayton General Hospital for their health care needs.

Marketing has been accomplished at Kadlec Medical Center, St. Mary’s Providence Hospital in Walla Walla, and elsewhere, since McGuire has instituted an active marketing plan, he said.

McGuire attributed active marketing to a strong inpatient volume in July, which exceeded the revenue budget by $138,000, and the highest volumes the Emergency Room has seen in four years.

“We’re thankful they are coming here,” McGuire said.

McGuire said his team would be meeting with the discharge planner at St. Mary’s Hospital this month to make sure they continue to be happy with their referral outcomes, and that their needs are being met.

“We have a fantastic team. The recipe is working,” said McGuire.

New services that patients can expect in the CCHS network in the near future include hyperbaric wound care, enhanced mental health care services, assisted living options, and palliative care.

McGuire said the process to participate in a three-year behavioral health and primary care integration project with the University of Washington has begun, and psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Varnell will begin offering integrative mental and physical health services at CCHS beginning Oct. 1.

“If we get selected, we will be pioneers very early on,” said McGuire about the project.

Work continues on bringing hyperbaric wound care to CCHS, McGuire said. McGuire said Dr. Frauenpreis has fulfilled his most recent wound care training for wound care certification, and that some nurses have also received wound care certification, one of which is in diabetic care.

The services are already offered, but would be greatly enhanced with a hyperbaric component, he said.

McGuire said a critical aspect would be whether funds are available from the hospital renovation project, in order to make some minor facility modifications, to support the hyperbaric chambers.

CCHS Board President Bob Hutchens said that the board members see assisted living as an essential component of their strategic plan for the community.

McGuire said that research is continuing into whether some Booker Rest Home beds can be turned into assisted living apartments, and that a square-foot study on some of the rooms has been done.

Research is also being done into regulation and certification for establishing a group home as an interim option, said McGuire.

“We could buy a house in Dayton with a CNA on site for 4-6 people,” McGuire said to the commissioners.

Also, Director of Nursing Stephanie Carpenter will be training and pursuing certification in palliative care, with the intention of offering a palliative care program at CCHS, McGuire said.

In his financial statement McGuire told the commissioners he would be talking to HomeStreet Bank in the near term about loans to help with cash flow. The number of days cash on hand were 18.9 in July.

Chairman Hutchens reminded the commissioners that the auditor said the average is 128 days, but Hutchens thought a realistic number for CCHS would be between sixty and ninety days.

Auditor Tom Meyers said that accounts receivable continues to rise, as work continues on outstanding billing issues with external billing partners.

Meyers said that gross patient revenue for July was $54,000 higher than it was in June, with inpatient acute and swing bed revenue very high.

Also at the meeting, the commissioners approved the purchase of a General Electric digital portable x-ray machine, to replace an aging x-ray machine which “breaks down more frequently, now,” according to McGuire.