Sidney Health Center Holds Annual Membership Meeting

Sidney – The Annual Membership Meeting of Sidney Health Center was held on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at the Sidney Country Club. Highlights of the meeting included presentations from Clifton Larson Allen on the audited financials as well as reports from the Dr. Malua Tambi, Chief of Medical Staff; Jennifer Doty, Chief Executive Officer; and Bob Burnison, Board of Directors President.

Two board members were elected to the board including incumbent, Burnison, and Mike Weber. Lance Averett, outgoing board member and past president, was thanked for his seven dedicated years of service to Sidney Health Center. Other board members include Rebecca Bradley, Eric Beenken, Stephanie Livers, Susan Duffey, Randy Johnson, and Cheryl Van Every, as well as Dr. Tambi, and Dr. Noel Nguewoun from the Medical Staff.

Sidney Health Center reportedly ended the fiscal year (July 2022 – June 2023) with a negative 1.2% operating margin. This was actually better than the budgeted negative $1.8 operating margin for fiscal year 2023. Rising costs in labor, drugs, and supplies have negatively impacted the operating margin the past couple years and the organization has been able to withstand the downturn due to strong financial performance in pre-pandemic years. Strategic efforts continue to be a priority as the organization rebuilds and manages its finances.

Annual employee turnover results reported a 21% for fiscal year 2023, compared to the national healthcare average of 26%. Since fiscal year 2017, the annual employee turnover rate has hovered around 18% indicating a stable workforce. In addition, 88% of Sidney Health Center employees participated in the annual employee engagement survey that was held in June 2023. Based on the employees' feedback and compared to other healthcare organizations, the organization scored in the 50th percentile meeting the organizational employee engagement goal and scoring 15 percentage points above last year's results.

"I am impressed with the number of employees who took the time to complete this survey. To me this indicates a willingness and desire to provide leadership with valuable input to improve the work experience," noted Doty, CEO, during her presentation. "Research confirms that an engaged, patient-centered workforce is foundational for the delivery of efficient and effective health care services and positively impacts the safety, quality and experience of care."

Sidney Health Center is one of the largest employers in Richland County with over 600 employees amounting to wages and compensation in excess of $60 million.

Other highlights of the meeting included building project updates, quality recognition awards, key statistics, and medical staff recruitment efforts and updates. In the past year, Sidney Health Center secured two additional emergency department physicians, a full-time orthopedic surgeon, a physician assistant, a pediatric hospitalist, and additional cancer care support.

Sidney Health Center's medical staff includes 33 physicians, who offer services including emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, ENT, podiatric medicine, oncology, interventional pain management, aesthetic medicine, pathology, and radiology. In addition, four nurse practitioners, one adult-gerontology nurse practitioner, six physician assistants, three nurse anesthetists and an audiologist compliment the medical staff and round out the team.

Sidney Health Center is a membership organization. To become a member of Sidney Health Center, individuals and businesses pay a one-time membership fee of $100. In the last year, 15 new members joined the organization, totaling 214 individual members and 60 business memberships. To become a member or for more information, please call Melissa Papka, Executive Assistant at 406-488-2027 or stop in at Sidney Health Center administration. You can also visit our website at: http://www.sidneyhealth.org/About/Membership-Info.