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BY ETHAN REDDISH

The Bainbridge Memorial Hospital Authority held their monthly conference this past Tuesday. There were two new items of interest brought up at the meeting: the adoption of Med Link software Pyxis, and the decision of whether or not to hire a consultant on certifying local clinics as rural Medicare certified.

If adopted, Pyxis offers features that would allow nurses to queue up a patient’s medication while still at their bedside, with the medicine dispensary ready and prepared when the nurse arrives. According to the board, this would reduce congestion of nurses waiting to receive medicine. The software use costs $320 per month, with a total cost of $19,200 over a five-year period. The Authority approved the motion to adopt Pyxis.

The next noteworthy item was the decision to hire a consultant on the topic of rural health clinic Medicare certification. There are certain criteria necessary for a clinic to receive Medicare certification, such as being in an underserved rural community, having a nurse practitioner in the clinic at least half the time, and providing certain kinds of lab work. There are various benefits for the hospital, should they be certified.

The consultant would be hired to analyze local clinics, see if they meet the aforementioned criteria, and weigh the benefits of certification. The motion to hire a consultant was passed.

The board additionally voted to cancel their December meeting, making this their last meeting of the year.