PINEDALE – The Sublette County Hospital District (SCHD) Board of Trustees worked through an agenda crammed with action items during a 2-hour meeting in Marbleton on Wednesday, Oct. 25.

Trustees approved the purchase of a new ambulance, voted in favor of wage increases for SCHD providers and staff and heard updates on construction of the critical access hospital and long-term care facility.

The board also voted to move forward in the search for a CEO.

New ambulance and staffing updates

Trustees unanimously approved the purchase of a 2022 Dodge Model-4500 4x4 diesel ambulance to join the fleet of emergency vehicles used by the SCHD Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The price tag for the vehicle is $287,707.

EMS interim director Jen Adam had raised concerns about aging ambulances with ongoing maintenance issues at the September board meeting.

Trustee Dave Bell, a member of the SCHD board finance committee, commended Adam for researching ambulances and working with the state’s lone certified emergency vehicle mechanic to ensure the new ambulance was a sound purchase. He recommended the board vote in favor of the acquisition.

“We know we need to spend these funds (on a new ambulance),” Bell said. “I don’t think we have a choice.”

SCHD board chairwoman Tonia Hoffman added that the purchase was “much needed.”

Adam also addressed ongoing shortages in emergency medical technicians and paramedics at the October meeting. EMS conducted interviews with potential first responders throughout the month to expand its staff, Adam told trustees.

While EMS remained short staffed, morale was good, Adam reported.

EMS responded to an “enormous amount of calls” this fall, Adam added. Four paramedics and EMTs surpassed 200 yearly calls in October, Adam said.

The Sublette Center is also experiencing shortages in nursing staff. In an effort to recruit locals to become certified nursing assistants, the Sublette Center organized a training program that began on Nov. 1, said Dawn Walker, Sublette Center administrator.

Walker introduced Katie Hoffman, R.N., as the coordinator for the training courses. The program consists of a mixture of online “didactic” learning and in-person clinicals, Walker explained.

Wage increases

In an effort to recruit and retain quality providers and staff, trustees approved pay scale increases recommended by the finance committee by a 5-0 vote on Oct. 25. The motion boosted salaries for all SCHD employees by 3 percent and is effective immediately.

Personnel in the lab, radiology, EMS and nursing departments will receive an additional raise that is in line with salaries in the region, Tonia Hoffman confirmed to the Roundup.

The new wage scale involved significant input from SCHD providers and staff, said Bell. The team approached the process with “thoughtfulness” and provided “great information,” Bell added.

Sharon Rutsch, clinical services coordinator and laboratory director at the SCHD, spearheaded the effort, said trustee Kenda Tanner, a member of the finance committee.

Before approving the pay increases, Hoffman voiced worries about the financial sustainability of the raises. The SCHD set aside funds to cover the additional salary expenses for only one year, Hoffman pointed out.

SCHD interim administrator Lindsey Bond noted that the SCHD had actually set aside money to cover pay raises for the remainder of the fiscal year and through the next fiscal year, amounting to between one and a half and two years of budgeted funds.

“This will buy time to build out revenue opportunities,” Bond added.

Bond felt “confident” that the salary increases would be sustainable, stating that the boosts to pay are necessary to “make us competitive” with health-care services in the region.

Department heads at the SCHD kept close tabs on services that will receive higher reimbursement once the district transitions from a clinic to a critical access hospital, Bond continued.

Bell echoed Bond’s assessment: “I am confident this will work. We need good staff and these raises are essential.”

Rutsch thanked the board on behalf of SCHD employees, stating the salary raises will go far in allowing the district to “keep up with the market” and prevent existing and prospective employees from looking elsewhere in the region for better opportunities.

The wage increases proved to EMS staff that “We matter and are valued,” said Adam.

Construction proceeding on schedule

Karl Lueschow, the SCHD’s owner’s representative, provided a monthly construction update for the new health-care campus emerging on the hill next to the Pinedale Clinic.

Crews continued to pour concrete foundations and the outlines of walls for the critical access hospital and long-term care facility are emerging, Lueschow told trustees.

Workers are also running sanitary lines under the foundations, Lueschow added.

Lueschow estimated the arrival of steel in either November or December. In response to a question from trustee Ashli Tatro, Lueschow pointed out that finding a qualified steel inspector remains a challenge.

Overall, the project was “tracking on schedule,” with only three weather days reported as of Oct. 25, Lueschow remarked. Supplies and equipment to winterize the construction site keep arriving as the construction team prepares the project “as best as we can” for colder weather, Lueschow added.

CEO search

Trustees unanimously approved a motion to begin the search for a hospital district CEO. The motion committed the board to investigate prospective search firms to “assist in a nationwide search” for a qualified chief executive.

Trustee Jamison Ziegler suggested the SCHD pursue a human-resources search firm to identify prospective candidates. The process worked well for the Sublette County School District No. 1’s previous search for a superintendent, Ziegler said.

Bell emphasized the importance of including SCHD staff and the community in the search to find a strong candidate who will serve as a “big dog in Sublette County.”

In other news

Only three patients took advantage of extended hours at the Marbleton-Big Piney Clinic over three and a half weeks, said Dr. David Burnett, SCHD medical director.

“The services were critical for the three patients who came in, but we need to do a better job of advertising the extended hours and getting word out about the program,” Dr. Burnett told trustees.

Trustees passed a motion to open a new financial account at an institution “to be determined” for the $73 million in construction funds. The finance committee recommended the establishment of an account for the construction funds separate from operating funds, Bell said. The SCHD’s financial advisors at Eide Bailly made the initial suggestion, Bell added.

The SCHD’s attorney, Lena Moeller, called a separate account for construction funds a “smart idea.”

Hoffman appointed Tim Delaney as an “outside member” to the finance committee. Delaney operates a “large construction company” in New York and owns a home in Hoback Ranches, Bell stated. Delaney also served as the chairman for a hospital board, Bell told trustees.