HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Mary Greeley Medical Center Board of Trustees Minutes 09/30/2025 Mary Greeley Medical Center
Board of Trustees
Meeting Minutes
September 30, 2025
The Board of Trustees met on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, at 11:15 a.m. in the
President & CEO’s office for the closed portion of the meeting.
Members in Attendance: Natallia Gray, Mary Kitchell, Austin Woodin
Member in Attendance
(via secure phone line): Beth Swenson
Member Absent: Ken McCuskey
Others in Attendance: Amber Deardorff, Shane Hopkins MD, Karen Kiel
Rosser, Gary Botine, Amber Swett
Motion and second (Kitchell, Gray) to go into closed session pursuant to Section
21.5(1)(l) Code of Iowa, to discuss patient care quality and process and
marketing/pricing strategies in a meeting of a public hospital, where public disclosure of
such information would harm such a hospital’s competitive position when no public
purpose would be served by public disclosure; and to review or discuss records which
are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential. Vote: Gray-
yes; Kitchell-yes; Swenson-yes; Woodin-yes. Motion carried. The Board went into closed
session at 11:15 a.m.
Motion and second (Woodin, Kitchell) to close the session pursuant to Iowa Code
section 21.5(1)(l) to discuss patient care quality and process and
marketing/pricing strategies related to a change in facility activity where public
disclos u re of this information would harm the hospital’s competitive position and
no public purpose would be served by public disclosure. Motion carried. The
Board came out of closed session at 11:51 a.m.
The board reconvened in the Atrium A conference room at 12:00 p.m.
Members Present: Natallia Gray, Mary Kitchell, Austin Woodin
Member Present via Teams: Beth Swenson
Member Absent: Ken McCuskey
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Others Present: Amber Deardorff, Gary Botine, Karen Kiel Rosser,
Penny Bellville, Jotesh Chug MD, John Meyers RN,
Melissa McGarry, Paul Hudson, Micci Gillespie
Consent Agenda
a. Minutes
August 26, 2025
b. Financials
Month ended August 31, 2025
c. Dashboard of Indicators
d. Home Health & Hospice Report
e. Medical Staff Bylaws
f. Quality Management Goals & Objectives
g. Gifts Policy
h. Quality/Performance Improvement Plan
i. Patient Concerns & Grievances Policy
j. Utilization Management Plan
k. Quality Metric Reports
Rehab & Wellness
Facilities
Surgical Services
Radiology
l. Approval of Medical Staff and Advanced Practice Providers and clinical privileges
as discussed in closed session.
Applications for reappointment to the medical staff
Joseph Merchant, MD, Oncology/Hematology, McFarland Clinic, Active
Melissa Wells, MD, Rheumatology, McFarland Clinic, Active
Applications for 1-year reappointment to the medical staff
Curtis Waite, DO, Emergency Medicine, McFarland Clinic, Active
Applications for initial appointment to the medical staff
Molly Gentle, MD, Family Medicine, McFarland Clinic, Community Based,
(refer only)
Timothy Schurman, MD, Plastic Surgery, The Iowa Clinic, Active
Request to update privileges
Taher Sabobeh, MD, Pulmonology & Critical Care, McFarland Clinic
Natallia asked to pull the Dashboard of Indicators.
Motion and second (Kitchell, Gray) to approve the remaining items on the consent
agenda. Motion carried.
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Natallia asked for an explanation regarding the change in format for the Dashboard of
Indicators, and if the items that were on the Dashboard previously are still being
monitored. Karen shared the new format for the Dashboard was refreshed to align with
the big dot goals. Leaders continue to monitor all the items on the current and prior
Dashboard.
Motion and second (Gray, Kitchell) to approve the Dashboard of Indicators. Motion
carried.
Facilities
Following a request by the trustees at last month’s meeting, Gary shared the following list
of buildings owned by Mary Greeley.
(main campus) Avenue with 76,679 sq ft
of mechanical =
610,045 total sq
space is roughly
37,213 sq ft
Avenue and Story County
House Dakota
Street McFarland the building while
McFarland owns the
Medicine East Avenue Clinic, P.C.
Doran Avenue Clinic for
Avenue Prosthetics
&
until 2032
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Inc.
Story City –
MGMC
708 8th
Street
MGMC 24,829 sq ft Therapies, fitness
center, and gym
Story City –
McFarland
708 8th
Street
McFarland
Clinic
10,040 sq ft Clinic offices
Natallia asked why the Ames Surgery Center is not included on the list. Mary Greeley and
McFarland Clinic each own 50% of the building, with Mary Greeley owning an additional
five acres adjacent to the center. Gary shared the surgery center will be added to the list.
Since the last board meeting, Gary shared the administrative team had a discussion with
a consultant that specializes in medical campus space planning, which was facilitated by
10Fold Architecture. After further discussions, the administrative team has decided to put
the learning center project on hold while conducting a master space planning activity to
include all the land and buildings owned by Mary Greeley. An RFP is being prepared to
be sent out to a number of firms who specialize in this work. Once a decision has been
made, leadership anticipates the process taking six to seven months for a final report.
The Facilities Steering Committee met on Monday, September 29. Discussion included
expanding Acute Rehab to the 6th floor of the west patient tower. Making this change was
previously part of Phase 4 of the Master Facility Plan but was put on hold during the
pandemic.
Public Forum
No one came forward.
Engagement Survey Results
Karen shared the results of the 2025 provider engagement survey.
Key takeaways:
• Response rate was 44%. All providers and advanced practice professionals are
surveyed.
• Engagement – Score increased +0.05 and the rank fluctuated slightly from the 78th
percentile in 2024 to the 77th percentile in 2025.
• High-quality care – Belief that the organization provides high-quality care improved
and is at the 80th percentile.
• Alignment – All alignment items dropped in score, and the rank dropped from the
75th percentile in 2024 to the 71st percentile in 2025.
• Specialty groups – For those in the largest specialty group (Medicine-45),
engagement and alignment improved and are at the 86th and 88th percentiles.
• Key drivers – ‘The goals and priorities of providers are reflected by the actions of
organizational leaders’ dropped significantly and is a key driver of engagement.
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• Affiliation – Engagement dropped for those in the 3-5 years of affiliation group and
those in the over 25 years group.
Recommendations to improve provider’s engagement and alignment:
• Develop or enhance ways for providers to share their input and deepen confidence
they are being heard.
Include feedback loops in communication processes to ensure providers know
their input was heard and considered.
Include provider representatives in discussions on processes, procedures, and
hiring.
Executive rounds to maintain a connection with providers and ensure they are
being heard.
Provide various ways for providers to share their thoughts and input.
• Establish a clear vision and goals.
Define a clear vision for the organization and articulate specific goals that align
with the mission and values of both the physicians and the hospital leadership.
Involve senior physician leaders in establishing and refining the vision and
goals.
• Joint Strategy Development
Involve physicians in strategic planning processes when developing
organizational strategies.
• Develop strong communication channels.
Implement effective and efficient communication channels that facilitate open
and transparent discussion between physicians and hospital leadership.
• Partner in quality
Encourage collaboration between physicians and hospital leadership in quality
improvement initiatives.
Establish multidisciplinary teams that include physicians, administrators, and
other key stakeholders to develop and implement quality improvement projects.
Set patient experience goals and demonstrate the connection between patient
experience, quality, and safety.
Partner physician leaders and nurse leaders, including the CMO, and CNO, to
drive quality improvement initiatives.
Penny shared the results of the 2025 employee engagement survey.
Key takeaways:
• Engagement – Maintained with a slight improvement in score and a slight change
in rank – from 84th to the 83rd percentile.
• By position – Engagement by all position types remain above the sub-group
average but engagement dropped for several.
• Nurses – Engagement for registered nurses (largest group of employees-490)
improved +0.03 and is now at the 87th percentile.
• Safety culture – Overall and Themes dropped slightly. Actively doing things to
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improve patient safety and effective teamwork between physicians and nurses
dropped significantly.
• Tenure – Engagement for those with 1 to 2 years of service dropped -0.11/63rd
percentile and dropped significantly for those with 6 months to 1 year of service -
-0.17/77th percentile).
• The organization provides career development opportunities improved significantly
and is the highest ranked item – 93%.
• Response rate – 85%
Recommendations to improve employee engagement:
• Department level action planning.
Goals to maintain or improve performance.
Involve employees in the development of the department action plans.
Provide additional support to departments that have the greatest opportunities
for improvement.
• Continued leader development.
Training and expectations to support development and engagement.
Continued senior and executive leader presence and support for all employees.
Ensure staff have multiple ways to have their voices heard and to hear the
follow-up.
• Support emergency department’s goal to improve.
Attention on engagement will support stronger patient experience.
Examine relations and communications between ED and other units.
Work with care givers to identify processes that can be improved and
streamlined to provide more time for patients.
Volunteer engagement survey results:
• Overall score: 4.6 out of 5
• Response rate: 150 out of 259 invited (58%)
• Top-rated dimensions
Respect & communication – 4.78/5
Team & leadership – 4.74/5
Engagement and belonging – 4.74/5
Meaningful work – 4.68/5
Support & appreciation – 4.72/5
Mission alignment – 4.63/5
Well-being – 4.55/5
Key themes from volunteer comments:
• Making a difference and meaningful impact.
• Appreciation and respect from staff and patients.
• Connection and belonging to the team.
• Flexibility in scheduling and assignments.
• Personal fulfillment & growth.
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• Organizational pride and mission alignment.
• Positive experiences with specific roles and staff.
The pulse survey will be sent out in November.
Penny shared a young professional’s group, as well as a mentorship program recently
started at the hospital.
Natallia asked about positions that are not covered by Career Pathways. Staff are working
with the new facilities director to create pathways in his department. Information Systems
continues to work on pathways for their department. Natallia asked how many travelers
are employed by the hospital. Penny shared there are very few. The travelers on staff are
on the medical units and generally on the overnight shift.
Medical Staff Report
The medical executive committee met on September 26, 2025. The following items were
approved:
• Minutes for the August 22, 2025, meeting.
• September appointments and reappointments were recommended for board
approval.
• Policies
Forgoing or Withdrawing Life-Sustaining Treatment and DNR
Adult and Pediatric Organ/Tissue Donation after Cardiac Death or Brain Death
Antimicrobial Prophylaxis for Surgery
Gary shared an update on the financial outlook at Mary Greeley.
Community Health Needs Assessment
Karen shared the Story County community health needs assessment (CHNA) is on a 5-
year cycle and is required by CMS. An external firm, PRC, was selected to conduct the
assessment.
The assessment consists of both primary and secondary data and uses the following for
benchmarking:
• Previous survey data
• PRC national health survey
• Iowa BRFSS data
• Health People 2030 targets
• National vital statistics data
Secondary data is county-level data such as census data, vital statistics, and other health-
related data. Community stakeholder input included 87 physicians, public health, other
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health providers, social services, and community leaders. A customized local health
survey was population-based and targeted health status, experience, and behaviors. The
surveys were conducted via landline/cell phones and internet-based surveys.
A total of 755 surveys with 125 items were stratified across the service area with the final
sample weighted in proportion to the total population:
• 551 in the Ames area
• 51 in North Story County
• 52 in Nevada
• 51 in Eastern Story County
Areas of opportunity include:
• Health
Mental health
Nutrition, physical activity, and weight
Substance use
Cancer
Diabetes
Access to health care services
• Social determinants
Income and poverty
Housing and homelessness
Food insecurity
Transportation
Karen stated leaders have been leaning heavily on the results, and there is conversation
about doing this survey every three years rather than every five years.
Beth asked if the increase in inability to receive services is due to visits to the ED. Karen
stated that it could be the reason if people do not have a primary care provider.
The report in its entirety has been added to BoardEffect.
President’s Report
Amber shared leadership and staff have been busy with the Baldrige site visit. The virtual
portion of the visit started today.
Big Dot Goals – Quarter 1
• One incident of harm
• 91st PR inpatient results
• Lab – over 200 days without a needle stick! They have approximately 60,000
draws annually.
• Operating margin is 2.2%
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There are six new providers that started in June, July, and August. Specialties include
Radiology, Pulmonary Medicine, Nephrology, Podiatry, Anesthesia, and Midwifery. In
addition, six new providers either started in September or are scheduled to start in
October. Those specialties include Hospitalist, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation,
Ophthalmology, Emergency Medicine, Cardiology, and Plastic Surgery & Reconstruction.
Recent PRIDE awards were presented to Human Resource employee health nurses
Sarah Buckels and Sarah Ohrtman. Intensive Outpatient Services social worker Chris
Ries also received a PRIDE award. Nurse Trent Muhlenburg received the DAISY Award.
Board Comments
Natallia shared Iowa State University is hosting a Healthcare Management Summit on
November 12. The keynote speaker is David Stark. There will be a panel discussion with
multiple organizations represented. John Meyer will be moderating the discussion.
Adjournment
Woodin adjourned the meeting at 1:26 p.m.
_______________________________ _______________________________
Austin D.M. Woodin, Secretary Micci Gillespie, Recording Secretary