About the Current Controversy
The board and management of the Health Center have had to make
some very difficult staffing and financial decisions during the
last year. In all cases, decisions were made carefully, with what
we believed were the best interests of the Health Center and the
community in mind.
One of the hardest decisions was not to renew the contract of
Susan Meis, PA-C upon its expiration on September 30, 2003. The
letter informing her of that decision gave her the option of working
through the duration of the contract on the condition that she
maintain professional behavior. Instead, Susan elected to resign
immediately.
Despite her resignation, the Health Center continues to provide
the coverage and high quality of health care services that the
Beaver Island community expects and deserves. Chris VanLooy, PA-C,
continues as our full-time primary care provider. We have the
cooperation and staffing assistance of BIEMS personnel. Two other
experienced health care professionals well known to the Beaver
Island Community, Nurse Practitioner Jo Hendrix and Holly Nielson,
PA-C, also will provide services to patients.
We understand the personal relationships many in the community
have with Susan because of the capable care she has given. We
know it can be difficult to contemplate establishing such a bond
with another care provider, and we are sorry that some Health
Center patients will have to go through this. But the Board of
Directors has the duty to take actions necessary to protect and
preserve the long-term best interests of the Health Center as
an organization one of the most important on this island and a
solid majority of the Board concluded that extending Susan Meis's
employment for another two years would be incompatible with those
interests.
In addition to assuring continued delivery of high quality health
care services, the Health Center has faced major management challenges.
The State Department of Community Health (which licenses the Center),
the townships and the community at large have all demanded improvement
in its overall operations, especially billing procedures.
To meet those demands the Health Center Board retained the services
of Arlene Brennan, an experienced health care professional highly
recommended by the State and by regional hospitals with which
the Health Center is affiliated. Her assignment was to diagnose
the problems and, with the Board's approval and support, devise
and implement solutions. She was retained as an independent contractor,
so the Health Center would not have the expense of benefits for
a permanent employee, and all costs for her service were covered
by grant funds. Under her leadership a tremendous amount of work
has been done.
Arlene and the staff report many accomplishments, some of which
are:
- Assisting with the layout of the new facility the staff will
use;
- Creating accurate and timely invoices that patients can understand;
- Drafting and implementing fair and comprehensible patient
financial policies, which patients are beginning to understand
and appreciate;
- Collecting co-pays at the time of service;
- Assuring compliance with Federal privacy accountability requirements;
- Improving collection and management of patient information;
- Dramatically increasing and accelerating collection of third-party
reimbursements and cash payments for patient services;
- Clarifying job descriptions, roles and responsibilities;
- Training staff to properly interpret and apply treatment and
diagnostic codes for reimbursement;
- Improved relationships with BIEMS, Peaine and St. James Townships,
area hospitals, and the State.
Much remains to be done, but the staff and Board are encouraged
by positive feedback about our progress in these areas, and we
remain committed to our mission of providing high quality, cost
effective patient treatment and wellness services to the whole
Beaver Island community.
We are all giving our best efforts and devoting substantial volunteer
hours to ensure that the Health Center not only survives, but
thrives, and we appreciate the support and understanding the community
has provided. We realize that people will disagree with some of
our decisions and we care about their concerns. But we hope that
personal disagreements with Board actions will not be turned against
the Health Center as an organization because without broad and
strong community support this vital Beaver Island institution
cannot survive. With the loss of state funding, your support is
more important than ever.
–Connie Wojan, Don Spencer, Anne Glendon,
Pete LoDico, Joe Reed, Rick Speck, Barbara Murphy, and Gerald
LaFreniere
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