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DCHS to close Wausaukee clinic site

IRON MOUNTAIN — Dickinson County Healthcare System plans to close its clinic in Wausaukee, Wis., by Jan. 31, hospital officials announced Friday.

The Wausaukee closure was among several changes included in an update on DCHS’s restructuring effort.

“All patients will receive a formal letter outlining the decision and communicating other health care options,” said Joe Rizzo, public relations manager. Rising costs and unsustainable volumes were cited as reasons for the move.

DCHS interim CEO Jeanne Goche and restructuring officer Dennis Smith continue to review DCHS’s operating policies and procedures, identifying areas of financial concern and making adjustments.

Other developments included:

— Berkeley Research Group has delivered the preliminary findings of its feasibility study. It was decided by Goche, Smith, Venable LLP partner Bart Stupak and the hospital board that further BRG services were not needed, as they would be redundant with what the new leadership team was hired to do. The contract with BRG was terminated and the fee paid was below the initially agreed-upon price.

— Stupak is pursuing several potential opportunities to help DCHS with its short-term and long-term debt obligations, as well as searching for a short-term cash solution.

— The hospital board has accepted Goche’s recommendation to temporarily add Connie Dudding to the administration. Dudding will focus on patient accounting, billing and coding, collections and physician accounting. She is working closely with staff on changes to improve revenues.

— Marie Debs has been named as the interim chief human resources officer after the resignation of Paula Swartout, human resources manager. A consultant from Detroit, Debs has extensive experience in health care administration and interim management. She will lend support in reviewing and analyzing the revenue cycle, assisting with physician contract negotiations and contributing to the overall restructuring plan.

“I have worked with both Connie and Marie in the past,” Goche said. “I wholeheartedly trust their decision-making and I know they bring the needed skills to the table. The financial situation at DCHS is dire and I am forced to pull out all the stops, including bringing in the experts that possess the knowledge and experience needed to improve our financial situation.”

— Dr. Steven Wiles will begin seeing patients Jan. 2 in the Dickinson Pediatric Clinic. Wiles joins Samantha Harrison and Christine Borgstrom, both family nurse practitioners.

— Dr. Ray Cameron has announced he will retire March 1 from the Dickinson Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic. Audiologist Jeff Hutchinson also has submitted his resignation from clinic, also effective March 1.

“Dr. Cameron has been an esteemed member of the medical staff for 30 years and he will be greatly missed by patients and colleagues alike,” Rizzo said. “DCHS thanks them both for their service and wishes them well in their future endeavors.”

— DCHS has passed an inspection from the Joint Commission, a national non-profit health care accreditation group. A representative from the Joint Commission was on site for a follow-up after the initial survey in October.

“DCHS is glad to say that the surveyor did not find any issues with what was presented and all hospital on-site action plans were accepted and verified by the surveyor,” Rizzo said. “The physician clinics were also reviewed and they passed with flying colors as all action plans were accepted and verified by the surveyor. The surveyor also reviewed the DCHS medical staff credentialing processes, as well as the charting procedure for pain management. Again, all went well.”

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