RiverView Healthcare Association members heard the ups and downs of 2022 virtually Monday, January 23, during the Association’s 125th Annual Meeting.
In her ninth year in the lead position, RiverView President/CEO Carrie Michalski shared the annual operations report for Fiscal Year 2022.
“Rural hospitals are struggling nationwide,” she stated. “Here at RiverView, despite solid patient volumes, we ended the year with a negative operating margin. Rapid rises in inflation have significantly increased the cost of delivering care to patients. These increased costs outpaced our revenue growth. We have taken several measures, including shrinking the size of our workforce, to counteract the rising cost of care, and we will continue to right-size operations as we navigate 2023 and beyond.”
Highlight Reel
While finances were a struggle, there were many highlights for 2022, most importantly, RiverView’s strong delivery of care, Michalski shared. Highlights also included:
- New services were added, allowing patients more care close to home, including MR imaging of the prostate, point-of-care ultrasound in the Emergency Room, and Methacholine testing for the diagnosis of asthma.
- The Sleep Lab, Laboratory testing, and the Stroke Ready Hospital Program received recertification accreditations.
- Home Care earned a 5-Star status from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid.
- Vinita Parikh joined RiverView to provide interventional pain management services in Crookston and East Grand Forks.
- For the sixth consecutive year, RiverView was named on the list of Best Places to Work in Healthcare. Based on team member surveys, RiverView ranked 11th in its category, the highest ranking the organization has received.
- RiverView provided education and wellness classes for first aid, CPR, health career Scrubs Camp, sober driving education to young drivers, celebration and addiction awareness activities through RiverView Recovery, youth dodge ball during Ox Cart Days, and the first joint replacement Walk and Roll 3K event, to name a few.
- As a nonprofit hospital, RiverView maintained its charity care program in which qualifying patients receive emergency and inpatient care free of charge.
Board of Directors
Grant Gunderson and Stephanie Harbott were reelected to the Board of Directors to serve their third three-year terms. Lori Keller was reelected to her second three-year term. Other Board members are Garrett Borowicz, Tim Brinkman, Reed Engelstad, Dr. Erik Kanten, Kari Koenig, and Dr. Brett Vibeto.
Special Awards
Several awards were announced at the meeting, with more information to be shared at a later date. Those honors included:
Employee of the Year: Diana Padilla, Purchasing/Inventory agent coordinator, received the Employee of the Year award and a gift of $1,000. Padilla was recognized for being kind, genuine, and sincere, among many other attributes.
Alta Hermodson Heart and Soul Award: The Auxiliary honored Deb Normandin with the annual volunteer award. Normandin volunteers in the Limited Addition Gift Shop and leads the sewing club.
Reaching Out to Serve Award: The Crookston Community Food Basket Committee received the award for years of dedication to the community. Through the program, 268 families received gift cards totaling nearly $15,000 to purchase meals in 2022.
2022 Proves Busy for the Auxiliary
The RiverView Auxiliary hosted blood drives, the Teddy Bear Clinic, collected items for the Angel Tree and Mitten Tree, participated in the Home Delivered Meals Program, and so much more in 2022.
According to Carrie Bergquist, Auxiliary liaison, nearly $20,000 was raised through memberships, donations, and fundraising events, including the first garden party tour.
Each year, the Auxiliary funds projects that aim to improve and enhance the patient experience at RiverView Health. In 2022, the Auxiliary funded requests for books for RiverView’s Reach Out and Read Program, new models for patient education, books for OB patients, televisions for Memory Care, and materials for RiverView Recovery Center clients.
The Auxiliary donated $5,000 to the Foundation for Giving Hearts Day and $5,000 to the Buiding Fund Pledge.
A $500 scholarship was awarded to Clarissa Simonsen, a RiverView team member working to earn her master’s in social work. In 2023, the Auxiliary plans to award two $500 scholarships, Bergquist reported.
The Limited Addition Gift Shop, run by Auxiliary volunteers, added two jewelry lines in 2022 and three new volunteers. The sewing club also grew by three and added comfort pillows for surgery patients and clothing protectors for Memory Care residents to its list of projects.
Auxiliary Board members are Judy Luettjohann, Gloria Watro, Deb Normandin, Jacqueline Cournia, Judie Kanten, Deb Sylvester, Nissa Brekken, Marlys Mjoen, and Jean LaPlante.
If you are interested in joining the Auxiliary, contact Bergquist at cbergquist@riverviewhealth.org or call 281-9572.
Foundation Gears Up for Giving Hearts Day 2023
RiverView Foundation Director Randy Schoenborn reported that 932 gifts were given to the Foundation in 2022 for over $447,000 to enhance services at RiverView Health.
Among the highlights of 2022, two new scholarships by the families of Roger and Lois Samuelson and Chuck and Laverne Rongen were created to help students pursuing degrees in healthcare.
The Foundation is now focused on Giving Hearts Day, February 9, the 24-hour online give-a-thon for nonprofits. That day, the Dakota Medical Foundation and other generous donors will match gifts to the Foundation up to $50,000.
Undesignated contributions from the event will be used to purchase replacement analyzers for the RiverView Laboratory at an estimated cost of $125,000.
An online link to donate will be available on February 9 at riverviewhealth.org and kroxam.com. Contact Schoenborn for information on Giving Hearts Day at rschoenborn@riverviewhealth.org or call 281-9249.
The Foundation Board of Directors includes Marilyn Wentzel, Jerry Lindsay, Jodi Clauson, Marcia Schoenborn, Cory Dallager, Kari Koenig, and Taylor Sannes.
