Pocahontas Memorial Hospital administrator Don Muhlenthaler attended his final board meeting last Thursday as the transition to Minnie Hamilton Health System began.

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MHHS will take over the administration of the hospital while the board conducts a study that will determine which of three options are in PMHﾒs future.

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One of those would be to partner with MHHS, already a Federally Qualified Health Center, to partner with Davis Memorial Hospital or to remain an independent facility.

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PMH has attempted to attain FQHC status, but the low population in proportion to the number of doctors has kept that from happening.

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Mulenthaler had little to say during the meeting, but noted that he thought the board had made the right decisions in this arrangement with Minnie Hamilton.

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Barbara Lay, MHHS CEO, said she had begun meeting with the hospital staff at 7:15 a.m.

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ﾓYou have wonderful people working here,ﾔ she said. ﾓYou have caring people working here. We feel blessed we can see if thereﾒs something we can do to help you.ﾔ

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Lay said a Minnie Hamilton consultant would be at PMH this week to research the three options and information will be ready for the board by the end of August.

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Lay and MHHSﾒs chief financial officer Steve Whited will help PMH financial officer Marvina Irvine shoulder the burden of turning a $1.2 million loss for fiscal year 2009-10 into a $16,000 profit for this fiscal year.

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At the end of June, Our Ambulance showed a loss of $14,177, while PMH Medical Practice showed a loss of $2,749. The home health agency operated by PMH until June 30 showed a loss of $94,670. PMH Home Health was sold to Amedysis for $400,000. A portion of that money paid off a loan for the hospitalﾒs computer system.

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In the proposed budget, salaries decrease by more than $300,000, even with the three percent across the board raises previously approved.

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PMH board chairman Dr. Robert Must pointed out that the proposed budget assumed the hospital is still autonomous. Muhlenthaler added that the hospital has a ﾓdecent chanceﾔ of seeing a two percent increase in patient volume.

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Irvine had more currently bad financial news.

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ﾓIﾒm going to talk about the cash we do not have,ﾔ she told the board.

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ﾓPMH was notified by Medicare that upon the final review of the cost report for June 30, 2009, the hospital was overpaid by $172,518 due to the reduction of Providers Tax expense in theﾠOffer in Compromise settlement with the State of West Virginia. The hospital paid the total amount before the deadline set by Medicare; howeverﾠMedicare has been holding $133,000.00 to cover this overpayment since July 13, 2010,ﾔ Irvine wrote in a statement Tuesday.

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Irvine said Monday, Medicare was in the process ofﾠrefunding the money and the check would beﾠmailed that day.

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The hospital is using all of its $300,000 line of credit, Irvine told the board.

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Muhlenthalerﾠ suggested asking the bank to increase the hospitalﾒs line of credit to $500,000, which the board approved.

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Board member Don McNeel did not attend the meeting since his term was up July 1. Board member Cathy Mosessoﾒs term will end August 3. Although both have said they will serve, the county commission is advertising this week for other people who are interested in serving on the hospital board to come forward.

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Both McNeel and Mosesso must send the commission written communication that they are still interested in serving.

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The PMH board has changed its meeting date to the fourth Thursday of each month.