Cuero Regional Hospital CEO Lynn Falcone is actively working to recruit medical staff to meet the healthcare needs of residents in DeWitt County. Unfortunately, the hospital is currently short-staffed, making scheduling challenging. Clinics and doctors' offices are experiencing a significant increase in patients with stomach flu, as well as those suffering from cold symptoms like sniffling, runny noses, and sore throats.
At the January 23 board meeting, Falcone reported on the medical provider recruitment status.
“I have three (providers) coming over spring break, two that would be interested in starting in August and one for next year. I added two new nurse practitioners,” Falcone said.
” Hopefully, we can get more practitioners that can see patients. That will increase the volume (of patients visiting), and Lynn (Falcone) continues to work on that,” Vice Chair of Board of Directors Faye Sheppard said.
Chief of Staff Dr. Sheryl Harvey MD announced the appointments of Chelsey Cheatham, PA, Family Practice, Osama Jamil, MD, Neurology- Telemedicine, Anahid Pahlawanian, MD, Radiology- Telemedicine, Salah Sherif, MD, Emergency Medicine, Merna Vera, MD, Family Practice Locums, and Nicholas Yurko, MD, Radiology- Telemedicine.
Additionally, the following medical staff members have been reappointed: Jack Drew, MD, Radiology (Telemedicine); Sujoy Gill, MD, Pulmonary (Telemedicine); Bangaruswamy Kumar, MD, Neurology; Gerard Murphy, MD, Radiology; Jayesh Patel, DO, Neurology (Telemedicine); David Riesz, MD, Radiology; Manisha Shah, MD, Cardiology (Telemedicine); Lorie Vernor, FNP, Family Practice; John White, MD, Urology; Gary Willers, DO, Family Practice/ Obstetrics; Diana Wilson, CRNA, Anesthesia; and Elaina Zabak, MD, Radiology (Telemedicine).
To address employee retention, a survey was conducted to assess employee satisfaction. Falcone presented the results of the Employee Engagement survey, which had a 93% response rate. The survey consisted of four sections: (1) personal engagement with the organization, (2) feelings about working and collaborating with their team or department, (3) perceptions of their manager, and (4) overall feelings about the organization. CRH results, compared with those of Methodist HCA, achieved a positive score of 78%. However, the scores for accountability, collaboration, respect, and belonging were slightly lower than those of HCA.
“The leaders are building action plans based on their own department results and they will be a monthly topic with each of the senior team members to continue to drive that,” Falcone said.
Regarding IT infrastructure, CFO Alma Alexander submitted a capital expenditure request for BIP grant and IT capital for the sum of $94,000. The expenditure covered 48 ports, 24 port switches, two 20 access points, and 11 laptops for the computer center. The new equipment will support telemedicine and other internet- related transactions.
Other items discussed at the board meeting included the approval of election administrator use of education classroom for 2025, Cuero Little League Agreement, CHS Anchor Club using CRH back parking lot for bike ride that is protected by indemnification, new spin bikes and weight machines for the Wellness Center, and Magview mammography tracking software.
Lastly, the CRH Board accepted Secretary Charles Papacek’s retirement from the board on December 31, 2024.
Two director positions are available. The first Day to File for a Place on the General Election Ballot will be Wednesday, January 15, 2025. An application for a place on the DeWitt Medical District General Election Ballot will be made available on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, in the Administration office of Cuero Regional Hospital. The last Day to File for a Place on the General Election Ballot will be Friday, February 14, 2025, at 5:00 pm.
The Board of Directors of the Cuero Regional Hospital will hold their next regular monthly meeting on Thursday, February 27, 2025, in the Education Classroom of the Cuero Regional Hospital at 5:30 P.M.
