EVENTS AND NOTICES

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The MCHD Board of Directors will meet in Regular Session on Wednesday, November the 20th at 1:00pm in the Boardroom in the Administration Suite of the Hospital campus located at 224 E 2nd Street.

Moore County Hospital District earns prestigious 5-Star Rating 

from the National Rural Rating System and named to National Rural Honor Roll.

Dumas, TX – Moore County Hospital District (MCHD), a committed healthcare provider in the high plains of Texas, is proud to announce that it has been awarded a prestigious 5 star rating by the National Rural Rating System (NRRS), a program recognizing dedication and excellence in rural healthcare, as well as being named to the National Rural Honor Roll.

This esteemed designation is a testament to MCHD's dedication to delivering high-quality care and exceptional patient experiences. The NRRS evaluates hospitals based on rigorous standards, including patient satisfaction, quality of care, and overall hospital performance.

The 5 star rating reflects MCHD's ongoing commitment to meet the unique healthcare needs of the rural community it serves. This recognition highlights the hospital's success in providing outstanding medical services, despite the challenges often faced by rural healthcare facilities.

The 2025 National Rural Honor Roll honorees, announced each November, include rural hospitals that have met the highest standards for patient experience, based on cumulative ratings submitted by October 31, 2024. This annual recognition reinforces NRHA’s commitment to supporting and uplifting rural health care facilities as pillars of their communities.

“These awards really shine a spotlight on the heart and hard work that our rural hospitals bring to their communities,” says Brock Slabach, COO of the National Rural Health Association. “Rural healthcare comes with unique challenges, and reaching this level of excellence shows not only the clinical expertise but also the deep commitment these hospitals have to the people they serve. This recognition celebrates rural healthcare as a source of strength, compassion, and healing—right where it’s needed most.” 

MCHD extends its heartfelt thanks to its dedicated team of healthcare professionals, whose tireless efforts and unwavering commitment to patient care have made this achievement possible.

The 5 Star Rating System ranks rural and critical access hospitals – with five stars being the top ranking and one star being the lowest. The Star Ratings are like the CMS Stars, which allow hospitals/clinics to promote their success and are used as high-quality recognitions. Most small and rural hospitals (60%) do not qualify because of low number of qualifying inpatients for the CMS Rankings but are held to the same high patient satisfaction criteria. This program recognizes the hard work, and dedication rural and critical access hospitals provide across the country. The rankings will include overnight hospital stays (HCAHPS) and are based on data collected by certified CMS patient satisfaction vendors. 

The National Rural Honor Roll was created to honor rural and critical access hospitals and clinics that consistently deliver exceptional healthcare, showcasing them as leaders in patient-centered care within their communities. Facilities included on the Honor Roll receive recognition for their dedication and excellence that sets them apart, demonstrating their commitment to patient well-being.

For more information visit RuralRatings.US.  

Moore County Hospital District (MCHD) in Dumas, TX has been named one of the top 20 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) for Clinical Quality in the country. This award follows MCHD’s designation as a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital in the Nation by CHARTIS in February, and is the second year in a row that MCHD has been awarded as a top 20 critical access hospital in the county by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA.)

The top 20 CAHs, including MCHD, scored best among CAHs as determined by the Chartis Center for Rural Health for Clinical Quality. The rankings were recently announced by the NRHA. An awards ceremony will be held during NRHA's national conference in September in Kansas City, MO.
 

The top 20 CAHs have achieved success in overall performance based on a composite rating from eight indices of strength: inpatient market share, outpatient market share, quality, outcomes, patient perspective, cost, charge, and finance. This group was selected from the Chartis Center for Rural Health’s 2024 top 100 CAH list, which was released earlier this year in February.
 

“MCHD is proud of the efforts of the physicians and staff who have contributed to our hospital achieving this designation for the second year in a row,” says Jeff Turner, MCHD CEO. “Delivering high quality healthcare is never accidental. Quality is intentional and results from skilled and empowered people focusing on outcomes. Our results as a top 20 performer in clinical quality, out of over 1,300 critical access hospitals nationwide, means our community can count on us to deliver the services they need now and in the future.” 

Moore County Hospital District Earns Top 100 Critical Access Hospital
Award from The Chartis Center for Rural Health

February 19th, 2024 - Moore County Hospital District in Dumas, TX today announced it has been recognized as a 2024 Top 100 Critical Access Hospital by The Chartis Center for Rural Health. Chartis’ annual Top 100 award program recognizes outstanding performance among the nation’s rural hospitals based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX®.

"Moore County Hospital District is honored to be listed as a “Top 100 Critical Access Hospital” by the Chartis Center for Rural Health,” said Jeff Turner, MCHD CEO. “As of December 2023, there were 1,366 critical access hospitals in America. To be listed in the Top 100 is a true achievement. Earlier in the year, MCHD was recognized by Chartis as being the ninth best in the country for clinical quality. Awards and recognitions such as these are encouraging barometers for the culture we have built to better serve this community and our patients. MCHD is committed to pursuing excellence in all that we do because we believe the citizens of Moore County deserve the best.”

“During an era of profound uncertainty for rural healthcare, the Top 100 rural hospitals continue to provide a unique lens through which we can identify innovation and inspiration for how to deliver high quality care to increasingly vulnerable populations,” said Michael Topchik, National Leader, The Chartis Center for Rural Health. “We’re delighted to be able to recognize all this year’s Top 100 but especially the more than 40 first-time recipients across both categories. It’s wonderful to see so many new facilities join the ranks of our Top 100 alumni.”

Now in its 14th year, the INDEX is the industry’s most comprehensive and objective assessment of rural hospital performance. Featuring a methodology utilizing publicly available data, the INDEX is leveraged nationwide by rural hospitals, health systems with rural affiliates, hospital associations, and state offices of rural health to measure and monitor performance across a variety of areas impacting hospital operations and finance.

VIEW BECKER'S HOSPITAL REVIEW ARTICLE

Moore County Hospital District (MCHD) is recognized as a leader in both employee and physician satisfaction and engagement within the healthcare industry, signifying the best practices businesses should consider implementing in a new year.

Press Ganey, the global leader in healthcare experience solutions and services, announced that Moore County Hospital District has been named a 2023 Human Experience (HX) Guardian of Excellence Award® winner. This award is part of Press Ganey’s annual ranking of the top hospitals and health systems in the country, according to performance in both the employee and physician experience.

As a winner of the Press Ganey HX Guardian of Excellence Award®, MCHD is in the top 5% of healthcare providers in delivering best practices in employee and physician satisfaction and engagement in the last year.

Press Ganey works with more than 41,000 healthcare facilities in its mission to reduce patient suffering and enhance caregiver resilience to improve the overall safety, quality and experience of care.

"This award symbolizes MCHD’s commitment to raising the bar for healthcare standards, inspiring a culture of continuous improvement and innovation across the human experience," said Mr. Jeff Turner, MCHD CEO. "It underscores the importance of placing patients, healthcare professionals, and industry partners at the core of our work, fostering a future where exceptional healthcare experiences are not just goals, but tangible achievements." 

“Moore County Hospital District has achieved excellence in employee engagement and job satisfaction by securing the Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award for the third time! Our exceptional employee engagement and job satisfaction scores underscore a commitment to providing the best care to our community. Averaging in the top 94% for healthcare workers in the US for the past 8 years is a remarkable achievement, showcasing a commitment to a workplace culture that positively impacts both employees and community care. Our extraordinary culture of caring has created a workplace where employees thrive, resulting in exceptional care for our community. At MCHD, our employees define our culture. Happy employees provide the best care for our community.” Said Ms. Kathie Fuston, MCHD Director of Human Resources.

About Press Ganey 

Press Ganey, the leading Human Experience (HX) healthcare performance improvement company, offers an integrated suite of solutions that address safety, clinical excellence, patient experience and workforce engagement. The company works with more than 41,000 healthcare facilities in its mission to reduce patient suffering and enhance caregiver resilience to improve the overall safety, quality and experience of care. Press Ganey is a PG Forsta company.

The National Rural Health Association has honored MCHD as a Top 20 National Critical Access Hospital in Quality for 2023.  The unsolicited honor was based on the results of the Chartis Rural Health Performance index and its eight indices of performance.  

MCHD EMS was named the EMS Agency of the Year in Texas for 2023 at the annual Texas EMS Alliance Conference.   

Texas EMS Al­liance officials send the nomi­nations to a panel made up of people from EMS agencies around the state. Identifying information has been re­moved so that the people making the decision have no idea which agencies they are evaluating and voting for. The awards are open to any agency in Texas, whether from small towns or major cities. 

"The fact that they looked at a small agency and chose us as the EMS of the year, it is a real honor."  Said Steve Fuston, Director of EMS

Priyanka Patel, Internist, will join Dr. Ralph Apolinario at Moore County Internal Medicine beginning September 5th, 2023.

Originally from Houston, Texas she recently completed her residency at Leonard J. Chabert Hospital (Ochsner affiliate) in Houma, LA. She enjoys educating her patient’s on how to approach their acute or chronic health conditions and equipping them with the tools needed to live their healthiest lives.  

Effective September 1st, 2023 the Patient Financial Services (Business Office) and Medical Records Departments will move back to the main campus after being relocated due to renovations.

Patients needing to pay a bill, request financial assistance, or get copies of medical records may now do so by visiting the main hospital located at 224 E 2nd St.  

Though patients may enter through the main entrance, a dedicated entrance off of 1st street will be available specifically for these two services at the old ER entrance located off of 1st street across from A1 Auto Care/ Stidham Insurance.

Congratulations to Dr. Stephanie Diehlmann, who was appointed to serve a two-year term on the Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s Perinatal Advisory Council!  In her capacity, Dr. Diehlmann will represent Moore County, MCHD, and rural providers’ perspectives on statewide obstetrical health issues.

This appointment places Dr. Diehlmann at the highest level of healthcare policy decision making within the State Department of Health and in a prime position to improve the quality of care for moms and babies across Texas!

Gasim Bella, Internist, has opened his new practice at Moore County Adult Medicine, providing Internal Medicine to adults aged 18 and up in the Moore County community.

Dr. Bella has provided care at both Moore County Hospital District in Dumas and Baptist Saint Anthony's in Amarillo. 

Dr. Bella is currently accepting patients.  For more information, visit the Moore County Adult Medicine website at the link below.

The MCHD Board of Directors voted on September 28, 2022 and approved a reduction of the tax rate from prior year from 0.246770/$100 of value in 2021 to 0.228680/$100 value in 2022.   This was a 7.3% decrease in the tax rate from prior year.

Average Homestead taxable value increased from the prior year from 128,637 in 2021 to 143,228 in 2022, which was a 11.34% increase

Tax on average homestead increased from the prior year from 317 in 2021 to 327 in 2022, which was a 3.15% increase.

Total tax levy on all properties increased from prior year from 5,935,395 in 2021 to 6,871513 in 2022, which was a 15.77% increase.  

As such;

Moore County Hospital District adopted a tax rate (0.228680/$100 value) that will raise more taxes for maintenance and operations than last year’s tax rate. the tax rate will effectively be raised by 15.42% and will raise taxes for maintenance and operations on a $100,000 home by approximately $30.57.

The definition of Maintenance and Operations for the Hospital District include indigent and charity care.  The recent construction and renovation was not funded by tax revenue.