Prowers Medical Center Board Approves Equipment Purchases

Prowers Medical Center Board members approved the purchase of what is known as Disaster Recovery Software for $80,000, following additional information requested of Craig Loveless, Chief Executive Officer at PMC.  The purchase is required because the HIPAA/HITECH Act requires medical providers to be equipped with an offsite disaster recovery solution of patient medical records.  Joe Spano, the hospital IT specialist, had researched information regarding the provider company’s background for the board.  The action was taken during the December board meeting on December 11. 

Additional purchases were approved for a device called a C-Arm which allows surgeons in the hospital operating room, a real-time view of where they and their equipment are in the patient during the procedure.  The Fluoroscope is used for such surgical procedures as orthopedics, gall-bladder removal, vascular surgery port placements for intravenous access and numerous other procedures.   The current unit at Prowers Medical Center is 17 years old.  The unit is called a C-Arm as it literally shaped as a large letter C which encompasses the patient on the operating table from above and below.  A training program for medical staff was also approved which will allow providers to document coding and reading of patient’s charts in accordance with new technological developments. 

CEO Loveless told the board that the hospital’s Financial Improvement Plan will be addressed in early 2014, and engagement letters for two bonding companies, Sherman & Howard, LLC and George K. Baum & Company were also approved by the board.  The hospital is seeking bonding to finance expansion and improvement plans for the facility. 

By Russ Baldwin