Hospital figures hit a slight summer slump
Seasonal numbers for Polk Medical Center continues to fluctuate during the summer months, but t hey're expected t o bounce back with the return of students into school and fall begins, when business usually returns following potential patients coming back from vacations as well.
A minimal drop was re- ported during June in emergency room and inpatient numbers according to Polk Medical Center Hospital Administrator Matt Gorman, but he said those figures are expected to bounce back by the time the local board gets their August report. Swing bed volume remained strong as the fiscal year came to end, with 463 patients treated for the year, more than 400 inpatient admissions and the highest emergency room numbers in the past three years of more than 20,000 visits.
One set of figures that did finally see an increase during the early summer were in surgical procedures at the hospital.
Figures from the hospital show 12 cases for the month and 14 procedures, breaking a three month drought of no procedures within the oper- ating rooms at Polk Medical Center.
"We ended up for the year with more than 100 cases," said Gorman.
July figures are expected to be down slightly too as swing bed admissions were off on the daily average, and are ex-pected to bounce back "to normal very quickly" in August.
Numbers that changed for the better as the fiscal year at Polk Medical Center came to an end were on the financial side, still on the uptick and profits expected to be well over what was budgeted by accountants at the hospital. However, June figures weren't immediately available for release during the July Hospital Authority meeting, since they were being prepared for audit along with those of parent company, Floyd Healthcare Management, Inc.
The board also heard about recent community engagement activities at the Homespun Festival by Polk Medical Center, and celebrated a partnership being continued with the Rockmart Farmers Market on healthy cooking demonstrations.
"That fits in well with our Live Well Polk campaign, which promotes healthy lifestyle choices
within the community at large," Gorman said.
Hospital Authority members also approved a measure pre- viously brought up to change the Polk Medical Center, Inc. Board of Directors and the Hospital Authority's membership as well.
Each body will get three more members to join, and limits on how long they can stay on the board were also approved as new bylaws within the Polk Medical Center, Inc. corporate charter and the bylaws for the hospital authority board.
Those measures were also approved by the Floyd County Hospital Authority as well.
Three new members will be asked to join in a process put together via a committee to be formed in the coming months, and then new members can be nominated and voted on by the board as a whole.
New members will be allowed to serve until they reach a new mandatory retirement age of 75. Current board members are grandfathered in under the new rules, but could like any new members take an option to be a director emeritus. They'd be allowed to attend meetings and offer advise, but not vote.