The Llano County Hospital Authority (LCHA) Board of Directors on Friday heard plans to move Llano Memorial Hospital toward becoming a “smoke-free” campus.

“We are the last facility in our region that has not become a smoke-free campus,” said Linda Meredith, chief operations manager for the Llano Memorial Healthcare System. “But smoking is still allowed in the courtyard atrium area at Llano Memorial.”

She said that a program was being designed to help employees quit smoking by the Customer Service Initiative (CSI), an ad hoc committee of hospital employees. Their goals will kick off June 11 and aim for ending smoking altogether by November, the month of the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout.

The board welcomed Pat Currie, Scott & White chief of hospital services, to sit in on the meeting in order for her to become familiar with the board of directors . One topic of conversation with her was progress on the Lake of the Hills Regional Medical Center.

Kevin Leeper, LMHS CEO, reported that the City of Marble Falls is proceeding with August annexation of the site near the intersection of SH 71 and US 281 in Burnet County.

“We are moving as fast as the water moves,” said Currie in regards to progress by Marble Falls to bring water and wastewater to the site.

She said that site analysis is underway with the Kaufman Hall healthcare financial consulting firm, and that S&W hopes to begin structural planning this fall.

With the LMHS fiscal year’s end approaching May 31, the S&W executive was able to hear a comprehensive summary of LMHS finances from Leeper, LMHS Director of Finance Charles Miffleton and LCHA Treasurer Trudy Kelley.

Kelley said the committee had hammered out a volume-based budget for 2008-2 009, with careful attention to analysis of each phase of the system and based on a projected profit of just under $400,000 vs. a projected loss this year of $1.2 million.

Cash flow improved dramatically as billing problems have evened out. At one point the accounts receivable reached $14 million with $3 million at the “over 180 days” mark for the hospital and clinics. Those figures now stand at $10 million and $1.4 million, respectfully.

Miffleton said the billing department has a 95 percent goal for bills to go through insurance companies and government providers without a hitch on their first submission.

Already, Emergency Medical Service collection has improved -- in April, by more than 52 percent over March, and year-to-date by 35 percent -- yielding $109,290 in April alone.

“In reporting April, the eleventh month of our fiscal year, it is clear that it has not been a strong year, profit wise, for LMHS,” said Leeper. But we are certainly ending the year in a much-improved position from 4 or five months ago. Woes from the system conversion starting in September 2006, in addition to new insurance industry requirements requiring National Provider Identifiers (NPIs), which caused most hospitals and insurance companies considerable headaches over the past twelve months, carried over into this fiscal year.”

“In dealing with larger than normal accounts receivable, specifically unpaid claims, there ended up being more ‘allowances for uncollectibles’ posted to our income statement than usual,” he continued. “The good news is that cash payments are up significantly over the past four months, so we enter our new fiscal year starting June 1 with key balance sheet indicators approaching our pre-conversion status.

“Our new budget was built with high expectations that we will move forward as in pre-conversion days of predictable net patient revenues.”

“We have held our expenses pretty well in line, despite our somewhat tenuous economy,” Leeper added. “It will be a bigger challenge if unemployment rises as well as inflation over the next twelve months. Even so, we expect to return to a profitable year in FY 2009.”

Leeper said the LMHS welcomed Scott & White support and oversight and the opportunity to participate in the healthcare giant’s “economies of scale.”

The board approved Kelley’s recommendation from the financial committee to accept a low bid from Llano National Bank to become the hospital’s depository in 2008-2009.

“We are lucky to live in a city with three banks that could give us three good bids,” said Director Jodi Babcock.

Meredith, who assesses all of the various studies and surveys in which LMHS participates, reported that 95 percent of patients that stayed at Llano Memorial put it at the top of a 10-point scale in cleanliness and in communication with the doctors and nurses – 15 percent more than patients staying at three other area hospitals. More patients from Llano Memorial gave it a top ranking overall than patients at other facilities – 77.5 percent, compared to 65 percent.

The board also agreed to “due diligence” in exploring the possibility of allowing the Mason Rural Clinic to join proposed Federally Qualified Health Centers which are seeking $600,000 grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Mason joined five other Hoerster Clinics (now Scott & White clinics) in 2004 to ensure uninterrupted health care for the community.

“The city fathers in Mason have been very happy with our presence,” said Leeper, who went on to explain that the county had been invited to join with Menard and Concho counties to qualify for the FQHC category of funding for healthcare and dental services in under-served areas.

If the change were made the clinics no longer would be part of the LMHS, although they would contract with Scott & White for the same physicians to continue and LMHS would receive representation on the board of directors of the new entity.

“New referrals to Llano Memorial Hospital have more than offset any loss (in clinic operations) in Mason,” Leeper said. “We are very happy with the relationship and we would expect to see no change if Mason takes advantage of this new funding.”