MEEKER | The Eastern Rio Blanco County Health Service District’s Pioneers Medical Center (PMC) held its regular monthly board meeting last week, with all board members present and some community members in attendance. They started the meeting by celebrating a major achievement that PMC received.
CEO Liz Sellers highlighted that Colorado Rural Health recently awarded Pioneers Medical Center an award for being one of the top 10 rural hospitals in the state of Colorado. She went on to explain to everyone in the room that morning how it wasn’t a small piece.
“That’s a lot of work—on service, finance, customer service—and it’s just the overall makeup of who we are at this hospital,” said CEO Liz Sellers. “It’s a very prestigious award, and they’ve done a great job to get that.”
Sellers also hinted at another award coming to the hospital, though she could not share details because it had not yet been formally presented. She noted it would be the third consecutive award of its kind for PMC. After all clapping and celebrating they moved on to approve the agenda and consent agenda for the meeting.
Board Vice President Regas Halandras made a comment about the recent care one of his family members received at PMC. He shared a personal anecdote, praising PMC’s care after a family member experienced complications following surgery at Saint Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction.
“She ended up in the ER at PMC for a couple nights and was very happy with the service in Meeker,” said Halandras. “Everybody here was exemplary.”
The board then heard from Ryan Nestrick of Ovation Healthcare, PMC’s management and support organization. Nestrick opened by congratulating the hospital team on their recent award.
“It certainly does reflect and recognize the hard work of the entire team—from leadership, physicians, and the board support for the investments you’ve made over time. Congratulations on that recognition that is a high achievement for you all,” Nestrick said.
Nestrick provided operational updates, starting with supply chain concerns, particularly around ongoing federal tariffs. He and his team are watching the federal movement and working with the leadership team at PMC.
“These tariffs and the uncertainty is a little chaotic at times, so we’re working very closely following that, really the guidance from Health Trust and what we talked about with the team is just continuing to pay very close attention to where we have those contracts. With the greatest opportunity being in dietary, so we continue to work through that with the group,” Nestrick said.
He also discussed revenue cycle issues, noting increasing delays and denials from insurers.
“That really does require us to work collaboratively from documentation to coding so that we’re reimbursed with as few denials as possible,” he said.
An educational webinar on revenue cycle trends is scheduled for May 20, 2025 followed by a June symposium addressing proposed changes to Rural Health Clinic policies and medical coding practices.
Chief Financial Officer John Nadone gave the month of March financials report. He reported a $25,000 net gain for the hospital in March, a turnaround from a $93,000 loss in March 2024. Outpatient visits rose 4% year-over-year and 7% above budget projections. Pharmacy volumes also climbed 6%. Gross revenue hit $7.7 million through March, though write-offs and bad debt continued to affect net income.
Board members expressed cautious optimism about the financial direction.
The board also discussed Ovation Healthcare’s role which is PMC management and support organization. Board member Wade Bradfield noted the improved coding and debt collection and explained to everyone they are doing better coding.
“We’re much more efficient in recovering money, way more than we have in the past and I thought that was a certain percentage of what they collected like medicare they took 2% out of that number. I wasn’t sure how all that worked,” Bradfield stated.
He was reassured that PMC pays approximately $280,000 annually to Ovation for billing, coding, leadership training, and legal services. Through Ovation’s Group Purchasing Organization, the hospital has saved an estimated $1.3 million annually. Additional benefits include regulatory guidance and legislative advocacy.
Plans are underway to schedule a board training session after the upcoming election. Sherri Halandras, running for a seat on the board, recommended training offered by the Special Districts Association, urging them to consider that to be their first go-to option.
“They typically hold them in Grand Junction or Vail after elections,” she said.
Executive Assistant Natalie Scritchfield responded by stating, “That’s something we’ve looked at. The dates are kind of all over. Liz and I have talked about finding one nearby—that would make sense for the board.”
Board President Mark Schryver added, “They’re training there, and then Ovation puts on some great training as well. Really focused on operational stuff as well.”
During open discussion, board members raised concerns about challenges with insurance reimbursements, particularly under Medicare Advantage plans, which often result in lower and delayed payments compared to traditional Medicare.
“The best thing patients can do—for their care and for our hospital—is enroll in traditional Medicare with a supplemental plan, not Advantage plans,” said Schryver.
During the public comment period at the start of the meeting, community member Bobby Gutierrez raised several concerns related to board member Kim Tedford’s candidacy and potential conflicts of interest.
“First is to the attorney,” Gutierrez said. “In the recent letter to the editor, Kim Tedford announced her candidacy, writing, ‘Our attorney verified my eligibility.’ My question is: Who did you verify it with, and how can Tedford still be eligible to run when she’s clearly violating her oath of office in the Colorado Constitution, Article 18, Section 11?”
Gutierrez also questioned Tedford’s role on the finance committee, citing a possible conflict of interest due to her employment at Yampa Valley Bank.
“We discovered that Tedford had listed her employer, Yampa Valley Bank in Craig, as a conflict of interest—yet she is one of two board members on the finance committee,” he said. “According to the Sept. 27, 2022, board minutes, after being term-limited in 2022, Tedford, representing Yampa Valley Bank, made a proposal to PMC to move funds into different accounts to increase income. So my question is: How much money does PMC have deposited in Yampa Valley Bank, and is it appropriate for her to be on the finance committee if she has listed her bank or employer as a conflict of interest?”
He also pointed to a discrepancy between reported mill levy income and county records.
“The article in the Herald Times said net income was $1.536 million and listed the mill levy income at $5,990,209,” Gutierrez said. “But the spreadsheet from the Rio Blanco County Assessor’s Office shows the mill levy at $3,666,090 for 2024. So my question is: Where did the $5 million come from, because it’s nowhere in the assessor’s spreadsheet?”
Gutierrez ended by asking the board to answer those questions, President Mark Schryver responded by stating, “We’ll answer your questions, but not right now.” Schryver said he didn’t know when the board would have answers to Gutierrez’ questions.
The board went into executive session for the purpose of receiving legal counsel regarding property matters and negotiation strategies. The next PMC board meeting is scheduled for May 27, 2025.