• The board received a draft copy of a purchase agreement with the Good Samaritan Society for the purchase of the Good Samaritan Care Center in Paynesville and Hilltop Good Samaritan Center in Watkins.

The merger was announced last October, and since that time PAHCS and the Good Samaritan Society have been working on a final purchase agreement. Board members were urged to review the agreement and notify the administration of any concerns within a week.

The board set a meeting of its long-term care committee for Tuesday, Jan. 29, to review the agreement. The full board will hold a special meeting on Thursday, Feb. 7, at noon in the Blakely Room at the hospital to consider action on the purchase agreement.

• The board reorganized for the new year. The board re-elected its officers: Don Thomes, chairperson; Doug Ruhland, vice chairperson; Carolyn Swyter, treasurer; and Diane Rothstein, clerk.

The board approved committee assignments for the year. The only changes were Grace Peteler joining the Personnel Committee, and Sara Olmscheid replacing Peteler on the Buildings and Grounds Committee.

Buildings and Grounds - Dr. Mike Hansen, Mel Jones, Rich Philabaum, Rothstein, and Sarah Olmscheid
Joint Management - Don Anderson and Bob Brauchler
Personnel - Ruhland, Peteler, Swyter, Thomes, and Vickie Ruegemer

The board approved keeping its meeting times the same for the coming year. The board holds its regular meetings on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 8 p.m. in the Blakely Room at the hospital. The Joint Management Committee meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 8 a.m. The Joint Conference Committee meets quarterly at 6:45 a.m. on the second Tuesday of the month.

The board reappointed Farmers and Merchants State Bank as their bank of record; the Paynesville Press as their newspaper of record; Frauenshuh and Spooner as their legal counsel; and Deloitte and Touche as their auditing firm.

The board voted to raise its reimbursement for board members from $40 per meeting plus mileage to $50 per meeting plus mileage.

• The board approved appointing Richard Fleischhacker and Don Torbenson to the Paynesville Area Hospital Foundation for two-year terms. The board appointed Dr. Ray Lindeman to the foundation board for a one-year term. A one-year term for a public member on the board is vacant at present.

The officers of the hospital board and the chief of the medical staff also serve on the foundation board, which held its first meeting in January and will continue to meet on the first Tuesday of each month.

• The board approved designating memorials and donations given to the Paynesville Area Health Care System to go to the foundation. In its last fiscal year, PAHCS received $25,000 in donations.

• The board rescheduled its February meeting from Wednesday, Feb. 27, to Wednesday, Feb. 20. The board will start its meeting early on Feb. 20, at 7:30 p.m., and tour finished areas of the construction and remodeling.