Local cardiology offerings increase

Long drives to Des Moines will be reduced as Greater Regional Health plans to offer more cardiology tests to Southwest Iowa patients. Recent investments in improving the hospital’s facilities and hiring cardiologists has allowed for unique procedures to be available.

During Chief Quality Officer Kimberly Weehler’s quality report to the board, her and Chief of Staff Dr. Matthew Epp discussed how cardiology is offered within the hospital, with exciting offerings on the horizon. For patients, this means staying closer to home.

Two new cardiac diagnostic tests will be available within the hospital. These are cardiac computed tomography angiography and coronary calcium scoring. With continued onboarding of cardiology staff, Greater Regional plans to keep expanding this field.

CCTA analyzes the heart’s arteries for plaque buildup and other blockages in the heart’s blood vessels. A coronary calcium score helps cardiologists analyze the risk of heart disease through x-ray imaging.

The two procedures are performed together; instead of displacing patients to Des Moines for the procedure, offering it at GRH will keep patients close to home and also provide revenue to the hospital. Epp called the procedure “cutting-edge.”

“We may be among the first CH facilities in the country considering doing this type of procedure,” Epp said.

With the ability for GRH’s staff to diagnose at GRH instead of hospitals in Des Moines, the return on investment is seeing positive results. Epp thanked the board for providing the hospital with this chance.

“You need a fairly robust cardiology group, some cardiology doctors, staff, nursing, people who know how, not necessarily equipment per se, but just the right kind of people to do the work,” Epp said. “That’s an investment that needs to be made by the facility and admin.”

One capital requisition will tie the hospital’s hands for the rest of the fiscal year. Due to inconsistencies with certain IV units, the hospital will have to replace them due to the safety concerns they present. These IV pumps were noted for having similar malfunctions in other hospitals.

Although originally planned to be replaced after 10 years, this replacement will come after only six years of use. Malfunctioning IVs have been pulled from the equipment line. The hospital will purchase new Alanis IV pumps as replacements with their arrival scheduled in three to four months.

GRH approved $825,000 for the replacement project. Through the hospital’s partnership with UnityPoint, favorable pricing was able to be negotiated.

A reported 63 units and 94 pump modules will need replacement. As an unbudgeted expense, other capital projects in the hospital budget will need to be delayed or removed to account for this purchase.

In purchases approved during Monday’s meeting, GRH will also look forward to an upgraded human resources service with UKG. While the hospital has used UKG for basic services, swapping to this upgrade will help manage the large staff at the hospital.

The capabilities of GRH’s current human resources service were limited, with some features, such as some types of time-off requests and schedule tracking, having to use auxiliary methods such as spreadsheets to keep track.

As the hospital transfers to UKG’s upgraded service, importing all data is estimated to take about a year. It contributes to the high cost of the project; the board approved $95,595 for installation.

In other Greater Regional news...

Greater Regional’s board accepted their annual audit. Steve Schweizer, representing the firm Denman and Company, reviewed the audit with the board during Monday’s meeting.

Schweizer noted how Medicare direct payments has allowed for the hospital to remain in good financial standing in recent years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. In fiscal years 2024 and 2025, the program has given a boost to Greater Regional.

Remaining debts for the hospital were set to be almost completely eliminated within the next few years, something CEO Monte Neitzel has focused on. For a critical-access hospital and in comparison of peers, the audit showed a steady financial state.

CFO Matt McCutchan reported a stable September for finances, with hospital operating revenues 3% over budget and expenses 1% under budget.