The Basin Clinic Board of Directors met on July 21 at the Nucla Airport for their regular monthly meeting.
At the start of the meeting, Randi Latham, of Thrive Community Health Network (formerly Tri-County Health Network), was appointed to an open seat.
Board Secretary Lorraine Garvey said she thinks Latham will be a great addition to the board due to her background.
Dr. Tiffany Ordóñez joined the meeting over Zoom. A candidate for a physician assistant (PA) position recently visited, and Ordóñez shared that she liked the candidate and thought that a lot of other people did as well.
Board President Chris Daniels confirmed that she opened the money market account the board discussed at their June meeting.
Executive Director Christina Pierce told the board that the clinic recently hired a “very smart young lady” for a medical assistant position.
Pierce also asked the board for permission to apply to the Rural Health Transformation Program. She explained the program would provide funding to bring on additional support staff at the clinic and support areas such as whole person health and telehealth. She clarified that the program would not be paying for the proposed Critical Access Hospital (CAH), but would “just put a lot of things in place.”
Pierce said that she received input on the program from both the clinic’s staff and its partner Thrive Community Health Network.
“One of the things we would like to do is get a second community health worker,” said Pierce.
The board reviewed their visit with a prospective PA. Pierce said an offer letter was sent, but the candidate did not receive it. She said another was sent, and added that if the candidate accepts the position, they will have a “soft start” beginning in August through November, as Pierce believes the candidate has to give 90 days of notice at their current position.
Petitioners were successful in collecting necessary signatures for the hospital initiative. Garvey said the board will not know the status of the petitions until the end of the week, as the signatures still need to be verified.
The board discussed tax calculation tools available to the public on the clinic’s website. The tools are designed to help tax payers calculate potential tax increases due to the proposed CAH and the 20-mill levy that would fund it.
Board member Peggy Case said she used the calculator and found that for her family, the tax increase would cost about the same as a round trip out of town to receive care. Garvey acknowledged that those who own land would face a greater increase.
“Each individual has to make a decision,” said Garvey.
The board elected offices, with Daniels, Garvey and Case maintaining their respective roles as president, secretary and treasurer.
Don Colcord voiced his support for Daniels and Garvey maintaining their roles. He felt it was important Daniels keep her role as president until after the upcoming election, adding that she and Garvey have both done a lot for the campaign and are very knowledgeable.
The next public board of directors meeting will take place Aug. 18. Meetings begin at 5:30 p.m., and take place at Hopkin’s Field, Nucla’s Airport. Meetings can also be accessed via Zoom.
