Construction work on the Amelia Medical Plaza is nearing completion, according to information presented at the Memorial Hospital board meeting on Tuesday. Board members had a chance to see the progress for themselves at an informal walk-through on Wednesday.

Relocation of the physician offices will commence on the afternoon of Friday, April 5, and the new medical offices will open for business on Tuesday, April 9.

The public will have an opportunity to tour the new facility at a Business After Hours and open house in conjunction with the Bainbridge-Decatur Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, April 11, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Physicians who will locate their primary care offices in the new building at 505 Amelia Ave., are Omar Al Haddad, M.D., Kerwyn Flowers, D.O., Prysca Ngalame, M.D., Ileana Popa, M.D., Shawn Surratt, M.D., Katherine Wiegman, M.D. and Angie Tyus, FNP-C.

January was another good financial month for Memorial Hospital and Manor, as a net income of $133,625 was reported at the February board meeting. This makes a year-to-date net income of $840,844, as opposed to $345,744 last year-to-date.

Finance Chair Glennie Bench reviewing the yearly budget said, “It looks very positive, with two months to go in our fiscal year, that we will be able to meet our annual budget.”

The patient census was up for January, resulting in $497,754 in increased revenues over December, but expenses were also up by $80,683.

The hospital is down some 60 employees from what it was a couple of years ago, and savings in salaries have helped improve the financial condition. Rising employee benefits continue to be a concern.

Several expenditures were approved:

• An expenditure of $7,870 for coping on the hospital, previously approved by the building and grounds committee, was approved by the board.

• Another recommended and approved expenditure from building and grounds was $9,792.25 for replacement of flooring at Willow Ridge. This involves new carpet in the front entrance and two rooms, as well as installation of vinyl flooring in the service area.

• Approval was sought and given for change order No. 3 in the amount of $11,527.87 for the Amelia Medical Plaza for handrails similar to the ones recently installed on the first floor of the hospital.

• A capital equipment purchase of $12,250.22 (a three-year cost) was approved for purchase of a BD MicroProbe processor for the testing of vaginal pathogens. The current method was described as very labor intensive. The new equipment should increase usage volume, resulting in an estimated return on investment in four months.

• A telephone system upgrade of the existing C-Tap lease was approved at a total cost of $84,427. This extends the existing 6 month lease by 18 months, for a total of 24 months, and provides additional phone service, including new phone instruments, to the new Amelia Medical Plaza. Purchase of the equipment would have been $107,489. By extending the lease, a savings of $23,000 was realized.

In other business, the board approved a change in the limits of the directors and officers liability insurance, setting a limit of one million dollars per occurrence, resulting in a premium savings of $10,640. Following much discussion, the vote passed with one “no” vote being cast by Johnnie Grimsley.

The CEO report included information concerning results of the survey recently conducted at the Manor, which gave it a score of 98 out of 100.

More physician offices are making the transition to computerized records.

Following an executive session, three matters were voted on. Linda Jones, M.D. was chosen to be reappointed to serve a new term on the hospital board, the minutes of the executive committee meeting were approved and medical staff credentials for Thomas Park, M.D. Orthopedic surgeon, were approved.