DAYTON – During the Columbia County Health System (CCHS) March 5 board meeting,CEO Shane McGuire discussed the University of Washington health agreements which launched a program to bring CCHS $152,000 annually to improve behavioral health care in our local communities.

The program is part of the AIMS network, standing for Advanced Integrated Mental Health Solutions at the University of Washington. Advancements in psychiatry availability and counseling are key to becoming a truly patient-centered medical home. More can be learned about AIMS at Aims.uw.edu.

McGuire explained that there is some confusion about terminology. “Patient-centered care and being a medical home, have nothing to do with “Home Health” which is another entity and concept altogether. Rather, they are a set of criteria that endorses a hospital or clinic in “making sure the patient is at the center of health care and not the physician or anyone else,” McGuire said.

Also discussed was the nurses skills training. The training happens the last week of March and is optional for nursing staff, with the exception of intramuscular shots. The flu clinic this past fall brought in over 300 people to receive vaccinations at Preston Park in Waitsburg.

“With five work stations, we try to offer further training for our nurses, especially in the areas where we have gotten patient feedback,” said the Chief of Staff Dr. Kurt Frauenpreis.

On the fiscal side, “January ended up being a solid month,” CFO Tom Meyers reported. January’s financial statement will be revised later as an audit team was in house for a week. Updates could carry over from the December audit into the January results. That information is not known at this time.

“Gross patient revenue was within one percent of budget and January operating costs were down seven percent which is a positive. The imaging departments did well in January. X-ray, CT and ultrasound all had strong months. Emergency visits were down to 146, from 175 in December, Myers said.

“Overall, January was a good month and gives us a positive bottom line after we book the non-operating taxes receivable and other non-operating activity. January’s bottom line is $112,212 positive,” he added.