Health board meets to wrap up 2017, begin 2018

The Nodaway County Health Center Board of Directors met December 6 to begin work on the 2018 budget and other year-end projects.

The board reviewed a working draft of the 2018 budget based on 2017 income and expenditures. Administrator Tom Patterson estimated 2018 income at $432,353, down from $448,586.24 projected in 2017. The health center lost the $20,000 Chronic Disease Primary Prevention contract which accounts for the income loss.

Board President Marlin Kinman talked about the changes the health department has experienced since starting in the basement of the courthouse in 1974. The health center has operated under the same tax levy for all of those years.

Expenses for 2018 are estimated between $455,300 and $490,300, depending when the lift project is billed and paid. Both figures are down from 2017 projected expenses.

Kinman suggested paying Smith Contracting, Maryville, 75 percent of the lift project cost if a bill is obtained by the December 13 meeting. The other 25 percent will be paid after the lift has passed all official inspections which are tentatively scheduled for the latter part of December.

Patterson is interested in obtaining high density medical records shelving for the health center. Discussion was held on going to electronic filing. Patterson wants to organize the current paper records before diving into starting an electronic system. Some information is already entered into a Missouri state electronic system.

The board and Patterson have been exploring the LAGERS retirement option for health center employees for the past year. Discussion was held, with the three board members present tabling the decision until the next December meeting and wanting all five board members to vote on the decision.

Filing times and dates for the one board position open in the Tuesday, April 3, 2018, election are: 8 am to 4:30 pm, Tuesday, December 12 and continuing Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, until 5 pm, Tuesday, January 16, 2018, at the health center, 2416 South Main Street, Maryville.

Although six flu cases have been reported to the Nodaway County Health Center, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported that as of November 25, there had been 1,545 cases reported in the state. In 2016, at the same time, only 379 cases had been reported. Kinman commented that nursing homes were being hit and several had quarantined patients.

The board set the 2018 meeting dates at 10 am, the third Wednesday of the month, with the exception of November 14, 2018, and December 5 and 12, 2018.