NRMC receives Healthy Nevada report

Nevada Daily Mail

The Nevada Regional Medical Center received a report from Healthy Nevada at their monthly board meeting Tuesday evening, receiving an update on the program's accomplishments and goals for the future.

Board chairman Steve Russ said they wanted an update from Healthy Nevada because they are a program of Cerner, which also provides other services to NRMC and whose services have been discussed at recent meetings.

Healthy Nevada began in the summer of 2013, but according to Healthy Nevada and Cerner representative Erik Gallimore, many of its programs did not start until 2014. But since that time, the program has actively sought out ways to improve the quality of life in Nevada through education and other means.

"We feel like we're onto something," Gallimore said of the grass roots initiatives they have seen in Nevada, serving as an example for other cities interested in a similar program. "Certainly, Nevada is our pilot site."

Gallimore said already other cities have taken notice. The governor of Missouri has visited Nevada three times in the past six months because of such programs and even the Walmart corporation mentioned Nevada's Walmart in a meeting because of the store's efforts to help customers with diabetes find products more easily.

The Fit-Tastic program at the elementary school continues, giving students an opportunity to walk for exercise as well as receive health information. That program will soon start for middle school students with the installation of a walking trail near the school. Healthy Nevada member Rachel Morris said they expect the half-mile track to be fully funded by August.

Healthy Nevada also expanded the community garden efforts, creating more gardening beds and also providing healthy eating courses. While growers get to keep part of the produce, a portion of it is also donated to other members of and organizations in the community.

Healthy Nevada also partners with the local farmer's market, which will begin once more May 16, at Earp Park.

Over the past few years, Gallimore said about 4,000 people have engaged in Healthy Nevada, equalling about half the population of the city. In the remainder of the initial five-year plan, Gallimore says they hope to involve the remainder of that population and others outside the city.

After that five-year plan, Gallimore said the program will look different, but they hope to continue the programs within it that have had so much success.

The board also again discussed the more than $1 million shortfall the hospital experienced in February due to an error in the uncollectible debts accounts receivable. Chief executive officer Kevin Leeper called the unexpected loss a "blindside."

"It's not a reflection of the business we've been seeing," Leeper said, pointing out that the average daily rate in February was the highest they had seen in any other month this fiscal year.

But since February is a shorter month, that achievement did not show itself in the numbers as much as it would in a longer month, chief financial officer Greg Shaw said.

"February was a good month," Shaw said. "It just wasn't long enough, was the problem."

Shaw also pointed out that the days in the accounts/receivable, net and gross, has dropped by about 20 days from this time last year, a great improvement.

"That shows the effort that we've been putting in over the last several months is finally starting to pay off," Shaw said.

Although it was a drastic change in finances over previous months, Leeper said the hospital still would have likely experienced that loss even without the error, just stretched over months instead of all at once.

Although those losses put a slightly more negative outlook on their financial state, Leeper said he still believes the hospital can prove they are capable of having months where the revenue and expenditures are equal.

"We're really close to being able to do that," Leeper said. "We have got to stay the course."