The Washington County Hospital Board of Directors met Tuesday night and they presented Board member JW Metcalf with a plaque and cake for his 12 years of service on the Board.  He did not renew his term, but as the County Board has not been able to find a replacement, Metcalf will stay on until someone is found.  President and Chief Executive Officer Nancy Newby says they have asked people, but it is hard to find someone with the time.  If anyone is interested, or knows someone that might want to be on the hospital board, they want to know, but that person must come from 1 of the 4 taxing districts.  For more information, call the Washington County Board or the hospital.  Also, the Health Fair will be on May 14^th from 7 to 10 AM and they will be doing lab work again this year, which begins at 6:30 and runs for an hour.  Some services are free, while others have a fee and they also may require fasting the night before.  Call 327-8236 for more information on the Health Fair.  Chief Financial Officer Elaine Matzenbacher reported that numbers were up and down in many categories from February.  In March there were 16 admissions, while 25 were anticipated.  It was also 2 less than the previous month and 16 less than last March.  Patient days was at 945, which was over 59 less than anticipated, but more than February, while being nearly 120 less than last March.  Outpatient visits was high at 2,715 as they budgeted for 2,667 and there were 2,568 the previous March.  Emergency room visits was below the anticipated 250, at 204, but that is more than the 162 in February, while there were 217 last March.  Surgery was also down from an anticipated 43 to 29 actual surgeries.  That is 8 less than the previous month and 11 less than March 2013.  So there was some improvement.  The year to date numbers for all of those categories is below what was anticipated, except for outpatient visits, which are still approximately 1,800 more than anticipated.  March’s income increased dramatically though at $108,707 from $1,563 in February.  Newby says that was due to a receipt of $135,000 in Meaningful Use Money they had been working hard to get, so originally, the hospital would have lost money for March. For the year to date, there is a positive income of $317,180.  She also presented the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget.  They anticipate nearly $175,000 income, as a new doctor is coming on board.  The 2013 FY just ended, and they anticipate a revenue of $84,521.  The Board approved 2 Capital requests.  The entire parking lot surrounding the hospital will be sealed and restriped by Egyptian Asphalt for $17,450.  They will also provide the hospital with 80 rubberized parking blocks to replace the missing or broken concrete blocks in the amount of $10,606.  The hospital already received the funds from the White Space Grant in the amount of $27,000.  This money will go towards helping rural communities connect to the State Health Information Exchange. Newby explains.  This will be for public health, so all of their public health reporting will go to the state electronically.  Also it will help with immunization reporting called I-CARE, so they will be able to pull up someone’s entire immunization record and add anything new electronically.  Funds will also go to the syndromic surveillance system, which will alert the hospital if there are any diseases spreading that may be similar to a case they have.  There will be a Town Hall Meeting on May 20^th at 6:30 PM at the hospital by the Communities That Care Coalition and the Washington County Hospital.  It will focus on finding solutions to the problems of underage drinking and substance abuse in the area.  They will partner up with agencies, schools and parents to find ways to combat these issues.  For more information or to be a part of the group, contact Jennifer Knopp at 618-493-7382, extension 1341.