PMC Offers CEO Position to Craig Loveless

Craig Loveless

The search for a chief executive officer at Prowers Medical Center may be coming to a close.  Candy Ruedeman, PMC board chairperson, said the board made a job offer to interim Chief Executive Officer, Craig Loveless, following a late night executive session during the June 26 monthly meeting.  Loveless has not given an answer at this time, pending salary negotiations with the board and QHR, Quorum Health Resources, the managing firm for Prowers Medical Center.  Loveless became the Interim CEO at the hospital on May 7, following the departure of James Fairchild.  Loveless most recently served as CEO and general counsel for a healthcare management group in California. He and his family currently reside in Springfield, Colorado.  He has extensive corporate financial management, legal and general management experience. 

“Prowers Medical Center is in good financial shape for the year,” according to Tom Dingus, whose firm conducted an independent audit of hospital finances.  He reported to the board that operating income is up $1 million over last year and wages and salaries have shown a general 7% increase.  Offhand, Dingus said for every full time employee at PMC, the hospital generates $119,000 in revenue.  One area that limits financial growth, he said, is bad debt and charity care.  Those two areas equal 11% of annual operating revenue, generally higher than most hospitals in the QHR framework.  Prowers County is high on the state income/poverty list, and low income patients from surrounding counties also use the hospital as their primary health care source.  Dingus said although the impact is the same, charity care comes from those who can’t pay and bad debt stems from those who won’t.  Audrey Kane, Chief Financial Officer said the hospital saw an increase of cash-on-hand by four days from last month, bringing it up to 83 days.  Net operating income for May, 2012 was $128,917 compared to 2011 of $368,377. 

The new board of directors, now with their second meeting, is looking at reviewing and updating various by-laws and developing committees and work sessions to streamline future board meetings.  The general by-laws will be reviewed by Craig Loveless and hospital attorney, John Lefferdink.   Chief of Staff, Dr. Barry Portner and Loveless will review medical staff by-laws for the August board meeting.  Committees will be developed to address finances and audits, compensation and medical credentials.  Credentials for about a dozen current medical practitioners were approved at the June 26 meeting.    A work session will be planned to review policies for education assistance plans for employee and Capital Equipment Purchases, as well as Delegation of Authority.  The board approved policies regulating various material recycling policies in accord with state health regulations.

 The hospital has hired a key employee, Donna Walker, as Chief Clinical Officer who will join the staff on July 2.  She replaces Maxine Montano who resigned almost a year ago.  Progress is being made on updating the hospital to an electronic health record system.  PMC selected CPSI as its vendor and the contract was signed on June 21, 2012.  The next Prowers Medical Board meeting will be held July 25.

By Russ Baldwin