By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
During the April 20 meeting of the Guthrie County Hospital Board of Trustees, a public hearing was held regarding the hospital’s fiscal year 2026-2027 county budget. Chief Financial Officer Brandon Johnson summarized the highlights of the proposed budget. No public comments/questions were made, so the public hearing closed.
The trustees later approved three budgets for fiscal year 2027 (the capital budget, the operating budget and the county budget).
Chief Nursing Officer Mandy Schiefert reported on the nursing department.
“We are working on Nurses Week, May 6112. Our DAISY ceremony will be on Thursday, May 7 at 2 p.m. at Sneakers,” Schiefert said.
She also shared information on recently filled nursing positions.
“We onboarded a couple of new nurses that will be fulltime nights,” Schiefert said.
Chief Human Resources Officer Mary Anderson provided a report.
“Our new learning management system, Relias, we have implemented that. The new hires have been using it, and they really like it,” Anderson said.
Anderson noted that the hospital’s most recently measured employee retention rate is 92.4%.
Foundation Director Dennis Flanery offered an update on fundraising events.
“We had our annual Handbags and Bingo, which was another successful event, so thanks to everybody who either worked or attended or was a sponsor,” Flanery said. “Our golf event is our next big event that’s coming up. The first round of mailings went out.”
Chief Operations Officer Travis Martin shared information on the facilities project at the hospital.
“If you’ve been down 12th Street, you’ll notice they’ve started taking the front of the building off today, so there’s a gaping hole out front,” he said. “We are sealed on the inside, but you’ll see that the building is starting to come down.”
Martin also reported on the Stuart clinic.
“The interior framing is done down there. They’re starting drywall next week, so we are still anticipating being done by June 1,” Martin said.
The next regular meeting of the trustees is set for Thursday, May 28 at 4 p.m. The public is welcome.