During Thursday’s Board of Governors meeting at Good Samaritan, the
Board welcomed their newest member, Stan Deweese, RPh. Deweese is a registered
pharmacist and owner of Family Pharmacy Inc. in Bicknell, Indiana. He
graduated from North Knox High School in 1971 and received his Bachelors
in Pharmacy from Butler University in 1976.
“I am very excited to join the Good Samaritan Board of Govornors
team,” said Deweese. “In order for a community to thrive,
it is extremely important for each individual to contribute in some fashion.
Serving on the hospital board is one way I can give back to our community.
Over time, I hope together we can guide Good Samaritan to be the model
county hospital of excellence in quality care and compassion.”
In addition to now being a hospital board member, Deweese is also a Deacon
at Mariah Creek Christian Church, president of the Bicknell Bulldog Development
Corporation and president of the North Knox Scholarship Foundation. He
and his wife, Brenda, who is a retired Kindergarten teacher from the North
Knox School Corporation, have been married for 46 years and reside in
Bicknell. The couple have two sons, Ryan and Jay, and an honorary son,
Zac Jackson. In his free time, Deweese enjoys spending time with his family,
especially his grandchildren. He is an avid golfer, a rescue scuba diver
and fan of Butler University basketball.
During Deweese’s first board meeting, the Board voted in favor to
utilize EPIC electronic medical record system for the outpatient offices
of the Samaritan Center.
Currently, the outpatient services are using Medinformatix as their electronic
medical record system. Switching to the EPIC system will allow the Samaritan
Center to no longer be on a separate EMR system than the hospital and
physician practices. In addition, EPIC will decrease prescribing errors
and will develop comprehensive reports to assist in tracking quality and
financial metrics.
The purchase is unbudgeted; however, the recent grant dollars received
by the Samaritan Center will help with the purchase. Receiving the Certified
Community Behavioral Health Clinic Expansion Grant (CCBHC) from the Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) also increases
the Samaritan Center’s need for data collection and integration
that is required as a recipient of the grant.
The initial implementation and licensing cost from Deaconess for the Samaritan
Center is $258,225 with an annual fee of $100,000.
Another purchase approved for the Samaritan Center during the board meeting
was a mobile unit. The unit is a 40’ self-contained mobile clinic
with two exam rooms, a nurse’s office, reception area, and restroom,
all handicap accessible. It will be used to provide primary care and behavioral
health care to Good Samaritan’s 11-county service area to those
with limited access to health care services and transportation. The mobile
unit will be staffed by a psychiatric nurse practitioner, family nurse
practitioner, registered nurse, therapist, case manager and unit coordinator.
“We could not be more excited to offer this mobile clinic to patients,”
said Kristi Scherer, Executive Director of the Samaritan Center. “This
unit will allow us to reach patients that do not have access to behavioral
health care. We will now be able to bring the office to them and improve
the mental health of our communities.”
The vehicle will be purchased from La Boit Specialty Vehicles for the amount
of $351,902 with the monies awarded from the SAMSHA grant.
The hospital’s Pharmacy Department was also approved to make a purchase
of new Automated Dispensing Cabinets (ADCs). The support for Pharmacy’s
current cabinets, Med Carousel and NarcStation will end in December 2021.
The department will be replacing the aging equipment and software with
29 ADC units, 11 for inpatient and 18 for outpatient, two Med Carousels,
and one Controlled Substance Manager.
The lead time for replacing the current equipment is expected to be six
months or longer. “These new automation pieces will give Good Samaritan
state-of-the-art medication distribution capabilities,” said Shane
Wilson, Director of Pharmacy. “The software that comes with the
new equipment will also give Pharmacy and Nursing better tools to analyze
drug usage and remotely manage patient medication distribution, as well
as controlled substance waste documentation.”
Implementation of all equipment in one year will avoid a required software
upgrade resulting in a savings of $120,534 and a yield savings of $142,500
in support fees. These potential savings will allow pharmacy to purchase
the new equipment for a total price not to exceed $1,585,590.