WARREN, Ark. (2/25/26) – The Bradley County Medical Center Board of Directors met inside the hospital’s conference room for its monthly gathering on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Financial updates, effects of the ice storm, executive updates, Rural Health Transformation funds, and policy approvals were among the topics discussed.
Approval of the January meeting’s minutes was the first order of business before giving way to Controller Matt Pace’s financial report. The hospital recorded a gross patient revenue of $3,292,252 and a net operating revenue of 1,693,156. The hospital reported a net loss of $143,918 for the month, but there was a decrease in accounts receivable. Volumes were up among most services, but the ice storm cut into the outpatient numbers considerably. Pace informed the board that the sales tax collected for the month was $118,525.27 to put the fund’s total just under $5.8 million.
CEO/CFO Leslie Huitt spoke about the effects of the ice storm in more detail. January volumes were great leading up to the storm, but the ice had a big impact on outpatient volumes. However, strong inpatient volumes helped reduce the effect on revenue. She did take time to mention the teamwork displayed during the ice storm to transport a patient by helicopter. The helicopter had to land on Highway 278 and had a successful transfer thanks to the help of Emergency Ambulance Services, Inc. (EASI), the Warren Police Department, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department, Pafford, ARDOT (Arkansas Department of Transportation), and BCMC staff. She made a point to say that EASI and the helicopters were great with communication during the entire storm. Additionally, construction of a new rental facility for EASI is underway on Bradley Street.
Huitt transitioned to updating the board on the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHT) funds the hospital is seeking. She met with the Arkansas Rural Health Partnership and other hospital CEOs in southeast Arkansas. They are formulating ideas for collaboration with one proposal concerning a new generator for 15 hospitals already in the works. They are meeting every Monday until April when the notice of funding opportunities is expected to roll out. Some other collaborative opportunities could include telehealth, sharing specialists, physician recruitment, deferred maintenance (HVAC, boilers, and chillers), workforce training, revenue cycle support, and IT support.
The RHT talk continued with some discussion about how some funds could be used for renovations and Huitt noted funds for the renovation of the BCMC Emergency Department and helipad would have a chance of getting approved. The proposals need to promote sustainability beyond the five years of the program or will likely not get approved. She concluded with an update about the BCMC Rural Health Clinic and was happy to report that they had 31 new patients last month, with an even distribution among the providers. The community seems excited about Dr. Bradley Biggers returning to the clinic, where he will begin seeing family practice patients on Monday, March 2.
Chief Operating Officer Leeanna Williams began her report with a story about a patient in BCMC’s newest service line of Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation went to see a lung specialist and now wants to refer more patients to our program. Additionally, Sharee Williams, Director of Respiratory Therapy that oversees the cardiac and pulmonary rehab program, was in an Arkansas Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Association (ACVPRA) meeting recently. She was the only one from South Arkansas in attendance and the Little Rock clinics said they would start referring patients to BCMC that are from the area. The last thing Williams touched on was that Tiffany White, BCMC’s new Marketing Director, started a couple of weeks ago and has hit the ground running.
Chief Nursing Officer Jamie Wolfe wanted to show some appreciation to staff members who worked during the recent ice storm. Several employees stayed at the hospital overnight to make sure it was fully staffed. Huitt also praised Wolfe for his willingness to help transport workers to and from the hospital. Wolfe ended by letting the board know they were reviewing service agreements and, expectedly, costs are rising.
The meeting transitioned to annual policy approvals with manuals from CURA (Dietary) and Legacy Rehabilitation (Occupational, Physical, and Speech Therapy) up for a vote. Both were approved unanimously. Next, individual policies Injectable Medication Safety from the BCMC Rural Health Clinic and Management of Obstetric Patients in the ER had to be voted on. Both policies were approved unanimously.
Huitt had one item to discuss for the use of sales tax funds. The Laboratory Department asked for $240,000 in capital budget requests for two new analyzers. The two machines are now here, but instead of buying the machines outright, they can be leased with no expense for the machines as long as reagents are bought through the same company. This is the company already used for reagents, and BCMC is already purchasing enough reagents annually to meet minimum requirements for volumes. The machines would basically be without cost. Start-up reagent costs for the machine are nearly $76,000. Additionally, there was a Medwater system that had to be installed for around $18,800 and other costs pushed the total price to around $102,000. This will save BCMC around $138,000 and the use of sales tax funds for this cost was approved unanimously by the board.
The board went into executive session and medical staff recommendations were approved unanimously before the meeting was adjourned.
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