North Big Horn Hospital trustees start off new year with election of officers

In its first meeting of the new year, held on January 21, the North Big Horn Hospital Board of Trustees re-elected Dave Winterholler as its president, Bruce Morrison as vice president and Todd Simmons as treasurer. Garret Frescoln was elected board secretary, replacing retired trustee Ron Christensen, who chose not to run for another term in the 2024 election. New board members Pat Crumrine and Max Lewis were assigned the ongoing task of researching and providing credentialing recommendations for providers to the board.

Medical staff officers were also approved with Dr. Michael Beeton, DO as chief of staff, Dr. Michael Hill as vice chief of staff, Rustin Myrick, FNP-C as secretary and Dr. Troy Caldwell as medical director.

In his monthly CEO report, Eric Connell announced that a new provider had been hired to replace provider Brenda Arnett, who had submitted her resignation a few months ago. The new provider, Kaitlyn Bresse, is currently shadowing Arnett but will not officially start seeing patients until she completes her physician’s assistant program training and receives certification this spring.

Connell also reported that New Horizons Care Center is awaiting its state inspection report. He said he expects the report to be positive, though inspectors almost always leave instructions for something to work on. He said, to his knowledge, there were no significant findings that would impact the care center in any way.

He also announced that Janet Koritnik will be retiring from her position as marketing director in May.

“We are grateful to Janet for her 20 years of service,” he said. “We are working on an updated job description for her role. In the meantime, we have hired an outside agency with expertise in digital marketing to help us with introducing our new physicians to the community.”

Connell also reported that cardiologist Dr. Kristin Scott-Tillery’s schedule has been increased to two weeks from one week to evaluate if there is enough continuing demand to increase provider availability.

He noted that Human Resources Director Kirsten Bryson is working with local schools on the PATH Program (Promoting Aspiring Talent in Healthcare) to encourage local high school students to pursue careers in healthcare. Bryson explained that students from Burlington, Rocky Mountain and Lovell high schools have been invited to participate in a special PATH event to be held on April 8.

“PATH is an experiential learning opportunity for high school level students, designed to encourage and promote healthcare careers,” explained Connell.

Connell also advised the board that another care center facility in the state has expressed interest in partnering with the district.

In other matters, trustees approved a radiology agreement with Billings Clinic after considering another firm for this service. Connell recommended the hospital continue its relationship with Billings Clinic for this service, in part, because the billing would be less confusing for patients.

Director of Nursing Michael Henley submitted a request for a piece of equipment to be used by nurses in the hospital. He explained that the equipment would make installing a PICC line (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) more efficient for nurses. A PICC line is a thin, flexible tube inserted into a vein in the upper arm. It is used by qualified medical personnel to administer intravenous (IV) fluids, medications, blood transfusions and to draw blood samples. Trustees approved the request.

Henley’s hospital census report for December 2024 noted that the hospital admitted 20 patients for observation during the month. He reported that the hospital had 16 inpatients and six swing bed patients. He also noted that there were no COVID-19 patients admitted in December, but there was a rise in cases of Influenza A virus. 

In a year end summary, Henley reported 22 extended recovery patients admitted from the hospital’s operating room, 163 observation patients admitted following a visit to the emergency room and 68 swing bed patients admitted during the year 2024. He noted the extended recovery patients all stayed less than 23 hours or were transitioned to an observation level of care, with the average observation length of stay less than two days. Henley reported the average length of stay for inpatients at 3.63 days and the average length of stay for swing bed patients at 15.21 days.

Clinic Manager Amber James reported 1,107 patient visits in the month of November and 1,105 patient visits in the month of December. The target goal for patient visits is 1,100 per month.

Visiting nurses conducted 254 visits in November and 296 in December. The target goal for monthly visits is 294.

James reported that 84 patients were seen on a same day scheduling basis in November and 83 in December. Though not a same day facility, increasing same day visits whenever possible has been an ongoing goal for the clinic.

A total of 44 patients are currently enrolled in the chronic care management program run by Rita Unruh, RN. James noted that providers are actively involved in increasing the number of patients enrolled in the program. The program has been particularly helpful for patients trying to control their high blood pressure.

Trustees congratulated Katie Weinand as employee of the month. Weinand is the hospital’s education and employee health LPN. She has worked for the hospital since 2016. They also congratulated Julie Watson, who was named leader of the quarter, in her position as billing supervisor. She has worked for the hospital since 2002.