The Washington County Hospital Board of Directors met last night and Chief Information Technology Officer Kim Larkin reported that the end of the reporting period for Meaningful Use is over on December 28^th and they are exceeding in all areas for the reporting period.  They are also avoiding any penalties by doing so.  The next reporting period is a full year and it begins on January 1, 2016 with all areas in Stage II.  Chief Executive Officer Nancy Newby reported that the response to the Diabetic Clinic was so great that they are going to have more education sessions on the 4^th Wednesday on each month.  While working their way to certification, the 1^st five sessions will be free, but once the Clinic is accredited, insurance will then be billed.  Newby also reported that they received the Illinois Department of Public Health report on the prevention of infections from a hospital for 2014.  The IDPH has a state-wide goal to reduce the rate of hospital acquired infections and they wanted the results shared with everyone to force quality improvement at hospitals.  Washington County Hospital had zero hospital acquired infections in both reported areas.  This means that a patient did not acquire an infection from the hospital, but doesn’t rule out that a patient came from another hospital with an infection.  She credited it to training, the staff staying sanitary, but also the housecleaning staff keeping the hospital very clean, as various inspections have detailed.  This is a significant achievement, as infections can cause a patient more problems and prolonged stay.  Newby then reported that they had an audit done on their new coding, which has become much more detailed, as it has gone from approximately 14,000 codes to 69,000 codes that can be entered into each patient’s file, explaining the situation and action taken.  She reported that everyone is doing well and are in compliance overall, with a few minor variances that could make the report more detailed.  The annual employee celebration will be on Thursday, January 28^th at noon with employee awards presented and a lunch provided.  All employees and Board members are invited.