Board of Managers Monthly Update – February
March 1, 2024 /
On Monday, February 26, 2024 the Titus County Hospital District Board of Managers met for the regularly scheduled monthly meeting. Terry Scoggin, CEO, began the meeting by announcing the passing of Board Member, Royce Carr. Terry stated, “Royce was a cherished friend who will be sorely missed. He spent time talking with me about the future of Titus and I respected and enjoyed his counsel.” He was honored by adding a banner to his empty seat and by draping his photo posted in the lobby.
The meeting was officially opened with prayer offered by Mrs. Katie White, head chaplain for Titus Regional Medical Center (TRMC). Mrs. White has been a part of the Chaplain Team at Titus for over twenty years. This group of spiritual leaders is dedicated to the patients of the hospital and serve daily through patient visits to anyone who will welcome them. The men and women in our Chaplain Team are organized to take “call” so that someone can be available if a patient requests a spiritual advisor. They are available 8am – 5pm for inpatient visits and can be reached after hours for emergencies. Mrs. White shared, “I feel blessed to be a part of this group. When we know someone needs a special touch, we can be here for them.” Terry Scoggin, CEO expressed his appreciation to the entire Chaplain Team and announced that Mrs. Katie White will be recognized at the 2024 Titus Regional Medical Foundation (TRMF) Grand Gala as a recipient of the COMMUNITY Award for her momentous work at Titus.
Linda Blount, President of the TRMC Auxiliary, gave the annual Auxiliary Report to the Board. She shared that their financial status is back to the Pre-Covid condition and that they have voted to donate $16,000 to the Cancer Center to create a room for patients to discuss with physicians after they complete their treatment. Mrs. Blount has served the Auxiliary team since March of 2001. Terry Scoggin announced that Linda Blount will also be honored at the TRMF Grand Gala as a COMMUNITY Award recipient for her dedication to the volunteer Auxiliary organization.
Terry Scoggin also shared that Dr. Paul Meriwether would be honored at the TRMF Grand Gala as the Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Dr. Meriwether has practiced medicine in Mount Pleasant for over 45 years and has served the city as Mayor and the community in countless ways over his time in OUR community.
Family Care Center Mt Pleasant was formally congratulated for being recognized as the “Best Clinic” by the Mt. Pleasant Tribune Readers. Their hard work and dedication to primary care patients in OUR community was commended by the executive leadership team and the Board of Managers.
Chief of Staff, Dr. James Bové reported on multiple initiatives the Medical Staff is working on this year to improve quality and efficiency within the Health System. He discussed a change in procedure allowing patients to schedule screening colonoscopies without an initial physician office visit that calls for additional time off work and scheduling challenges for many patients. “Our goal is to remove barriers that cause patients to delay screening and make a clear and simple path for colonoscopies to fight colon cancer in OUR community,” shared Dr. Bové.
Chief Nursing Officer, Kathy Griffis, reported on success in the Emergency Department in bringing average length of stay times down while also reducing the number of patients leaving without being seen by a provider. The current statistics on both measures are now below the national average and continuing to fall with continued work by the team. She credited Dr. Kinports and the work the entire Emergency Department Team has been doing for the current successful measures.
Terry Scoggin, CEO, also offered an update on the future Ambulatory Specialty Center planned for the north of the current hospital. He updated the board on costs for the project and discussed options for investing partners that would allow construction and new service line projects to improve health and access in OUR communities. These additional services include optometry, dermatology and more. These updates were made to inform the board of ongoing planning, but not presented as an item calling for board action at this time.