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Continued Dedicated Service to Our Community For Pay Period Ending July 6th Does it feel safe to say that the Dog Days of Summer are starting to secure their grip on us? I see three digit temperatures are again in our forecast, and surely our abundance of rain is soon to dry up. Indeed the passage of time has no brakes, and the next season is creeping up on us just as we are beginning to enjoy summer’s edge. For MCH, we have passed our mid-year cycle and June, which started out quite sluggishly, ended with a bang. It was very rewarding to be called to deliver some newly approved medications through our infusion center, which resulted, in essence, in an expanded service center for us. Whatever we can do to help keep our  area-wide residents from traveling to more congested health centers, the better for all of us.   It has been reported that our new, as the first of the year, Pulmonary Rehab Center, is now graduating members with a far greater capacity of unburdened exertion than they had experienced 3-4 months before. This mirrors our targeted results, but it so is nice when patients actually speak proudly of achieving those goals. Also, Dr. Samani has commenced with his now weekly visits to Council Grove, and he is already scheduling more rehabilitative surgeries to help our patients’, right here at home.   Our recruiting efforts for next year’s residency graduates of Drs. Peach and Gillam ended unceremoniously with their election to go to western Kansas, where they had gone through a rural training rotation at Scott City Hospital. Coming in a strong second place just doesn’t feel good, but partially with their recommendations, we have 3-4 more prospects to whom we will be showcasing our wonderful Community. We mustn’t hang our heads…because we do have plenty to offer, and recruiting two families of three can be more slippery than focusing on just one doctor (and family) at a time.   As July represents Men’s Health Month, I encourage all males of households to consider getting their prostate cancer screenings done and if it has been a while, to schedule a complete wellness exam. Know also, that our doctors and midlevels are all well trained and skilled in analyzing skin growths and removal of suspect spots.   Thanks to all our staff who are daily mindful that our customers and visitors come first! K evin Leeper, CEO

The heat doesn't have to stop you from getting outside and getting a good walk! Here are some tips to keep moving (and getting the benefits of walking outdoors) even when the temps begin to rise. Choose the Right Time: Plan your outdoor workouts during the cooler parts of the day, typically early morning or late evening. Avoid exercising during the peak heat hours, usually between 10 AM and 4 PM. Stay Hydrated: Hydration is key when exercising in the heat. Drink plenty of water before, during, and after your workout. Carry a water bottle with you as you head out the door, and electrolyte drinks can also help replenish salts lost through sweat.  Dress Appropriately: Wear lightweight, light-colored, and loose-fitting clothing that allows your body to breathe and sweat effectively. Opt for moisture-wicking fabrics to keep you dry.  Pace Yourself: Reduce the intensity and duration of your workouts in hot weather, especially if you're not accustomed to exercising in high temperatures. Listen to your body and take breaks as needed.  Seek Shade or Cool Areas:  If possible, choose shaded or cooler locations for your workouts, such as trails with some tree coverage.  This can help reduce the overall heat stress on your body.  Wear Sunscreen:  Protect your skin from sunburn by applying sunscreen with a high SPF before heading outdoors. Reapply as necessary, especially if you're sweating heavily. A hat is a great choice to protect your face if you don’t want to chance sweating sunscreen into your eyes.  Know the Signs of Heat-Related Illnesses:  Be aware of symptoms such as excessive sweating, dizziness, nausea, headache, or cramps. If you experience any of these, stop exercising immediately, find a cool place, and hydrate.  Consider Indoor Alternatives:  On extremely hot days, consider indoor alternatives such as gym workouts, swimming, or exercise classes in air-conditioned environments. Our local Council Grove Life Center has some great indoor exercising options. Gradually Acclimate:  If you're new to exercising in the heat, gradually acclimate your body by starting with shorter workouts and slowly increasing intensity and duration over time.  Listen to Weather Warnings: Pay attention to weather forecasts and heat advisories in your area. It's crucial to adjust your workout plans accordingly to ensure safety.  Health Wise Lunch Bunch meets on the 3rd Wednesday of the month and in July, Vanessa Kitchens, RRT will be talking about our new Pulmonary Rehab center and how you can improve your lung function. She is a great resource for those with lung disease such as Asthma, Chronic Bronchitis and much more!  Lunch is $6 and you do need to reserve your spot. You can call 620-767-6811 ext. 148 or email szeigler@mrcohosp.com  to reserve a spot. Save the date for the 27th annual MCH Golf Benefit tournament to be held on Saturday, August 17th at the Council Grove Country Club. If you need a registration flyer, you can pick one up from the hospital, or at www.mrcohosp.com . Morris County Assisted Living residents love a good bingo game as they stay indoors trying to beat the heat.  Do you know someone who would benefit from joining this fun group? We currently have three apartments open and ready to move in! Contact Laverne for a tour and more information. 620-767-5600.

The primary purpose of the FHLB Owner Occupied Rehab grant is to improve or modernize low-income to moderate-income family homes. The FHLB Owner-Occupied Rehab grant repair/replacement program includes accessibility modifications, weatherization, energy efficiency, critical repairs, and exterior repair services to remedy code violations and revitalize neighborhoods.   Benefits:   ·         Families can live in a safe and well-maintained home ·         Neighborhoods become revitalized ·         Affordable housing across the state inventory is preserved.   Types of Repairs/Replacement:   ·         Roof, Gutter, and Siding repair or replacement ·         Exterior doors and window repair or replacement ·         Plumbing, electrical, water heater, and HVAC repair or replacement ·         Accessibility modifications ·         Emergency repairs ·         Sewer/Septic tank repair or replacement ·         Bathroom and Kitchen upgrades/remodels

Continued Dedicated Service to Our Community Administrator’s Bi-Weekly Review For Pay Period Ending June 22nd Seems like we are on a run of Holidays as we approach Independence Day…having just experiencing Memorial Day, Father’s Day, with Juneteenth Day and locally, Washunga Day, all in the mix! I think our culture does like reasons to celebrate, lol, with all these days being good reasons for such. I think we at MCH have good reasons to celebrate, as well. Today marks a visit for three prospective physicians, as Dr. Bethany Peach is shadowing our work flows to get a better sense if she and her colleague Dr. Morgan Gillam will definitively choose us as their post residency destination! And I am also visiting with a former MCH Doc, Joel Hornung, who is considering a return in some fashion to our campus, following a “retirement of sorts”, from practicing in Manhattan Via Christi’s ER in a few weeks. We would love for all three of these physicians to choose the MCH family as their next practice partner. More to follow.   As our mid-year winds to a close, we are fortunate to still being busy and staying well ahead of last year’s pace. We are still battling inflation, as is everyone, and with the cost of doing business up substantially from a year and two years ago, we are grateful for incremental business which is the best remedy for contending with those issues.   I remind everyone to be careful opening emails that seem or feel odd. We have too many in-state sister hospitals who have had their computer systems compromised recently, and the backlash from those incidents is NOT something anyone wants to deal with. But we are ALL vulnerable and must be diligently alert to intrusion possibilities.   Our Board approved a new anesthesia machine this week to replace a reliable but old and ready for retirement unit. So our growing Surgery business is in a better position! I see a newly resurfaced parking lot is nearing completion and I thank everyone for meeting the parking challenges over the past couple of days.  I wish a safe and enjoyable 4th of July for everyone and may we all take serious pride in our freedoms and not take them for granted!   Kevin Leeper, CEO

Continued Dedicated Service to Our Community Administrator’s Bi-Weekly Review For Pay Period Ending June 8th This week ends in Father’s Day, to which we salute all of our Dads! It also marks the end of Men’s Health Week… you know the gender that needs their wives to schedule their preventative procedures and assist them in proper healthcare protocols. So I also salute the respective ladies who try their best to help us guys take care of their selves! Summer is showing its face this week with the first tilting towards three digit temperatures. It is hard to imagine that summer solstice is less than a week away (June 20, 2024) and that next Friday the daylight hours per day will already have begun their shrinking status. Don’t worry though…lots of summer still remains. We have time to begin some summer capital projects, as we will soon see wire pulling for our replacement patient call system and security system. We hope to start the resealing of our parking lot soon, and also tile replacement throughout our hospital’s hallways. Need for our overnight beds remains rather meager, but patient traffic for all other services seems to be holding on, despite a mostly red two weeks relative to our goal attainment. We are excited that Dr. Samani will be moving towards his weekly visits at our hospital starting next Tuesday, but know that his routine day is moving to Wednesdays, accept for the one monthly eye day we conduct, at which point he will come the Tuesday prior on those specific weeks. Our outpatient nurse treatment services are growing lately, as there are more and more infusion type treatments becoming available, to replace some of the daily oral pill and/or injection type therapies. We will be glad to get feedback on whether these new treatment approaches truly aide our patient’s lifestyles and ability to reach their goals. I wish everyone a great father’s day weekend and I thank our staff for watching their resource utilization and for taking great care of our patients and visitors! Kevin Leeper, CEO

Continued Dedicated Service to Our Community Administrator’s Bi-Weekly Review For Pay Period Ending May 26th This report will again be brief as I spent the bigger part of last week at the annual KHA/KHSC Board Retreat, in which we developed a new three year strategic plan for a State-wide hospital industry which is really in a financial recovery mode from the pandemic driven recoil and subsequent inflationary times. We learned of some key factors contributing to our financial pressures that have to do with reimbursements, which perhaps can be significantly remedied. Because these involve certain payor sources, we are developing a game plan at this time before releasing many specifics which might compromise our position. So more on this topic to follow soon. You will see below a nice pick up in business from our last pay period, aided by an earlier in the month “eye day”. It is always good to have pay periods in the green for cash collected, one of the nineteen green metrics! But also notice the big drop off in overnight census for the month of May – it was less than half of our targeted number for the entire month…I always attribute that to nice weather, but more likely just the season. Hope everyone enjoyed the Memorial Day Weekend! Thanks for watching your resource utilizations and for taking great care of our patients and visitors! Kevin Leeper, CEO

Continued Dedicated Service to Our Community Administrator’s Bi-Weekly Review For Pay Period Ending May 11th This report will be very brief as I managed a full week away last week (spent on Estero Island on Ft. Meyer Beach). It is evident from this recent pay period ending 5-11-2024, that our YTD surge in Census has ended…good weather will do that. With very low inpatient volumes, we realized misses in most of our weekly budgeted metrics, but overall revenues did not suffer too severely. Our budgeted volumes were very aggressive this year, so we should expect a few periods like we just experienced. Hope everyone enjoyed the Hospital Week festivities! Thanks for watching your resource utilizations and for taking great care of our patients and visitors! Kevin Leeper, CEO

Continued Dedicated Service to Our Community Administrator’s Bi-Weekly Review For Pay Period Ending April 27th If European tradition marks May Day as the beginning of summer, then I am all in for that, and I am glad we are there. Other traditions have May 1st as a meaningful celebration for workers. And that certainly resonates for us in healthcare as our annual celebration commences in a few days with Hospital Week. So this week calls for a welcome to summer, and a nice green beginning, thanks to recent rains. And also a big Thank You for YOU. It has also been a good week in that we have heard back from our visiting physicians of last Sunday, and I think we did a good job in piquing their interest about our quaint little town and a nice hospital team. We must be patient as they visit other sites, but I do think we are still in the game! More to come as things evolve. Since my last report, our Board has approved the replacement of our patient call system / code blue system, as well as an enhancement to our digital security system, which will afford many new features for after-hour lockdown and surveillance abilities. We are very hopeful for the approval of our application for the annual Kansas Tax Exemption Program to help fund this rather expensive project. The Board also authorized our purchase of a new replacement Blood Analyzer for our Laboratory. We should all feel proud of our ability to stay abreast of new technologies that enables our hospital to stay ahead of the obsolescence curve. Recapitalization is a very important component for the health of Critical Access Hospitals! So thanks to our Board for recognizing such! For some reason, I feel compelled to remind everyone that inflation IS taking its toll on most facets of our economy…we all feel it at the grocery store and when we have appliances to buy, or tires, or drugs, or batteries, or shoes, and so on and so on. It is really impacting all businesses as well, as those same supplies, service contracts, insurance, and labor that must be purchased are costing us all much more than 2-3 years ago. Pressures on bottom lines have never felt more real…yet if we remain innovative and smart about how we go about shopping for values in our needed resources…then I think we can relieve the margin pressure a bit. But we must each be cognitive of deploying smart buying practices! We cannot afford to plan poorly, run out of things, and have to pay premiums for essential items. This is my lesson for the week – please plan ahead and use our ever ready tools (smart phones for instance) to find where to buy our resources as efficiently as we can! We still need to use our Purchasing Department to authorize our buying commitments, but we can all help them in finding the best ways to replenish our shelves, and help our dollars go further and keep what we charge for our services under wraps. I again give my special thanks to all of our caregivers who make our patient’s experiences here as good as they can be! And do have a great week! See you at our Post Derby Employee Party this Saturday Night!! Kevin Leeper, CEO

Continued Dedicated Service to Our Community Administrator’s Bi-Weekly Review For Pay Period Ending April 13th April has again brought the full-fledged aroma of burning Flint Hills pasture, followed up with the annual prayers for rain to green up everything to its expected glory. Nice to see the rain received this week, but keep it coming. This is National Laboratory Week, and as such we wish to give extra thanks and praise to our awesome Lab Team, whom I can attest gives great customer service each and every day to a large percentage of our overall clientele, (I know as I am within earshot of most of their outpatient encounters}. Thank You Lab Team!!! If you have not yet heard, our hospital applied for and was awarded participation in a select group of twenty Kansas hospitals who will be specially trained on the priorities being addressed by the 2024-25 survey teams. These teams are currently being hired by the Kansas Department of Health and Education, who is the overseeing body in charge of MC/MCD credentialing for the State of Kansas. As part of this team, we will be led by Kevin Kepley to serve as a mock surveyor of a couple other similar hospitals, and others in turn will be conducting a mock survey on our hospital. The intent is to facilitate our hospital’s survey preparedness in the best possible manner. KDHE has assured Kansas hospitals that a committed catch up effort is in place to get us all surveyed in the next year or two. I think through Chelsea Cowart’s Quality efforts, we have gained in several areas that will be surveyed. So thanks Chelsea, on your way out, and we welcome Lynette Pate to carry these efforts on seamlessly. You can see for the past couple weeks that our metrics in green have had a nice surge, and are outnumbering those in red by a nice margin. Also operationally, we have at last put together a solution for our commercially insured Convenient Care utilizers, by having their billed services be processed as intended; as an after hour Clinic service. With the help of GPHA, our Cerner support group, and our Blue Cross Blue Shield rep, we have retooled our process, and as of Monday this week we are trusting that patients will only be charged their copays and/or Clinic deductibles moving forward. We welcome feedback from those testing this new process. Special thanks to all of our caregivers who make our patient’s experiences here as good as they can be! And do have a great week! Kevin Leeper, CEO

April is National Stress Awareness Month! Here are a few tips to help ward off the negative impacts of stress: Take breaks from news stories: It’s good to be informed, but constant information about negative events can be upsetting. (Think about setting boundaries before this upcoming election!) Eat healthy. Have fruits and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, and low-fat or no-fat dairy. Limit foods with unhealthy fats, salt, and added sugars. Cut back on processed foods and choose more whole foods! Get enough sleep. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day to help you sleep better. Adults need 7 or more hours per night. Sleep is what helps to reset our emotions and stabilize our hormones. Move more and sit less. Every little bit of physical activity helps. Start small and build up to 30 minutes a day. Rome wasn't built in a day--add a few more steps today than you had yesterday! Limit alcohol intake. Choose not to drink, or drink in moderation on days you drink alcohol. Moderation means having 2 drinks or less a day for men or 1 drink or less for women. Continue with regular health appointments, tests, screenings, and vaccinations. Talk to your doctor if you're feeling overwhelmed or anxious. They are here to help and can find you additional resources if needed. Make time to unwind. Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate. Try to do some other activities and make time for the hobbies that you enjoy. Connect with others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling. Connect with your community-based or faith-based organizations. Spend some time outdoors.  Your mom was right--get outside! Research shows that being outside is good for us. Sunshine and fresh air can help our physical and mental health. We are having so much fun with chair yoga at the senior centers. If you haven't given it a try--now is the time! The Council Grove Senior Center meets on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month and the White City Senior Center meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month.   Everyone is welcome to join us for some great movement (and it's a great stress reliever too!) Can walking be a super power? Join us on April 17th to learn more about how walking can affect our mood levels, our pain levels, and our overall health!  We will also create a plan to get started--no matter where your fitness level is today. Let's Start a Heart-Healthy Walking Program! Lunch is $6 and you do need to reserve your spot. You can call 620-767-6811 ext. 148 or email szeigler@mrcohosp.com to reserve a spot. This month we welcome The 36-Hour Day Group. It is a support group for  caregivers who are caring for those with dementia. It will meet every Thursday from 1:00 -2:00 PM in our Hospital Chapel. The group discusses various topics from the book, "The 36-Hour Day". You can email Stacy with any questions you have, Join us for an open house this week, Friday, April 12th from 3:00-5:00 pm at our Chase County Clinic in Cottonwood Falls.  We will be celebrating the retirement of Christy Watts, wishing her well, and thanking her for years of service to our community.  All our welcome! Morris County Assisted Living is an important part of our community and provides excellent housing options for our seniors. We appreciate your referrals as we look to rent our last couple of renovated apartments and we are looking for a few more great neighbors to call this unique space home. Call 620-767-5600 to schedule a tour.