Hospital board spends $2 million

The Ector County Hospital District Board of Directors spent about $355,000 on Tuesday for site preparation related to the ongoing construction of Medical Center Hospital’s Ambulatory Care Center, but the board’s big-ticket expenditures went toward equipment and renovations at the hospital’s main campus.

Included in the money appropriated by the board for the ambulatory care center is the construction of a new north-south access road, excavation and building pad preparation, and the next phase in the extension of water and sewer lines to the satellite care facility’s east-Odessa site

But beyond the allocations for the project, the board also approved spending about $1.6 million for new equipment at the hospital, about $1.2 million of which is to go toward the purchase of new physiological monitors.

Also included in the total cost of equipment purchases was $80,000 for 29 replacement reclining chairs, $175,995 for two new surgical lasers, and about $100,000 for a neonatal portable incubator and stretcher.

Beyond the $355,000 allocated by the board for an access road and site-preparation work at the new care center, the board also allocated $102,590 for a total overhaul of the existing hospital pharmacy’s IV Preparation Clean Room, which hospital officials say is out of compliance and could fail inspections by state and federal regulatory agencies if it is not completely renovated.

Although the $69,590 bid made by contractor Travis Clean Air for the bulk of the project was about $6,000 more than a competing bid by Carter-Health, trustees agreed to opt for the former at the behest of staff members who have worked with the company in the past and are satisfied with its products.

MCH Chief Executive Officer Bill Webster said the board normally chooses to go with the lowest bidder on most projects, but in some circumstances quality or standardization considerations “occasionally” lead it to spend a little extra.

“If we feel it’s a superior product, we’ll sometimes go with the higher price,” he said. “The lowest bid may not be the quality you want.”

The remaining $33,000 of the project’s total price tag stem from other costs related to renovation, including about $4,000 for a temporary clean room during construction and another $6,000 for seamless flooring.

In other business, the board heard an annual report from the MCH Trauma Program, which served more than 1,000 patients in 2008.

The board also approved its annual Audit Committee report for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

Other actions by the board:

>> Removed provisional status of four staff doctors.

>> Expanded or granted privileges for three staff doctors and one physician assistant.

>> Approved the Joint Conference Committee’s request to create one new nursing research position and to hire a new surgical technologist.

>> Accepted the resignation of one MCH staff doctor.

>> Appointed a new board secretary to fill vacancy.  

>> Reviewed and approved the 2009 property tax rolls that were released July 21 by the Ector County Appraisal District.

>> Agreed to the below-market-value sale of three inter-local agreement properties, for which the hospital should receive a total of about $567.

MCH EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH

>> Clinical: Ann Kobes, echo technician with Cardiopulmonary Department.

>> Non-clinical: Ashley Rimer, decision support/budget coordinator.

>> Nursing: Rebecca Lachica, registered nurse with Pediatrics Department.