"your financial statements are totally in (good order)"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Mar 19, 2009 @ 12:15 AM

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FRANKLIN —

Five more town unions have volunteered to freeze their salaries and make higher co-payments on their health insurance to save jobs, Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting announced at last night's Town Council meeting.

Highway workers, custodians, clerks, tradespeople (such as electricians and plumbers), police and fire dispatcher unions, all of whom fall under the umbrella of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees union, each voted affirmatively, Nutting said.

"That will save all their potential layoffs," Nutting said.

In total, those unions have about 130 members, he said.

Read the full article on the Town Council meeting in the Milford Daily News here.

For the live reporting from the complete meeting check here.

Industry: Safe Lifting Leadership Award

In our ongoing series on local businesses, I find this press release appropriate for a couple of reasons.

1 - a local company has created a portal to work the bigger issue (safe lifting)
2 - as part of that portal, they select someone doing the right thing (the award winner)

This is a win/win in my book. Congrats to Liko for sponsoring this award and for Gundersen for winning it.

Franklin, MA – March 17, 2009 – The pro bono healthcare injury prevention website Safe Lifting Portal (http://www.safeliftingportal.com/), has announced that its newly instituted Safe Lifting Leadership Award has been presented to Gundersen Lutheran Health System of La Crosse, Wisconsin. The award was given in recognition of Gundersen Lutheran’s outstanding accomplishments in safe patient handling, safe lifting, and caregiver injury prevention.

A DVD describing the hospital’s accomplishments can be ordered from http://www.safeliftingportal.com/gundersen-lutheran/

Gundersen Lutheran Health System includes a 325-bed teaching hospital and a Level II Trauma Center. As one of the leading medical facilities in the mid-west, the health system has received eleven top 100 designations in as many years. It serves patients throughout western Wisconsin, northeastern Iowa, and southeastern Minnesota, providing care in 19 counties.

In 2003, Gundersen Lutheran Health System initiated a patient and staff injury prevention program. Key components of the program included installation of ceiling lifts to transfer patients, an extensive staff orientation and training program, and on-going monitoring of usage compliance. The ceiling lifts were installed in units hospital-wide, including intensive care, coronary care, rehabilitation and PT, pediatrics, morgue, diagnostic areas, and the OB/GYN water birth room.

Among the more significant results of the program have been substantial decreases in injury rates, reduced workers’ compensation costs, and less employee lost time and restricted time. The program has also increased staff retention rates and proved to be an excellent staff recruitment tool.

Emphasizing Gundersen Lutheran’s firm commitment to patient and employee safety, Gary Brunslik, Manager of Safety, commented, “Preventing staff injury is good business from the financial standpoint, but also, it is the right thing to do."

Kathy Weitekamp, RN, BSN, Care Manager, went on to say, “We’ve been able to show a 57% decrease in the number of patient handling claims, which we feel is pretty significant. Lost time has gone down 78% and restricted time has gone down 81%, so we’re very pleased. Our ceiling lift return on investment has been less than three years."

Dr. William Scorby, Medical Director for Employee Health, added, "We also see the safe lifting program as playing an important role in staff retention and recruiting - keeping our experienced nurses safe and injury free while attracting new nurses trained in safe lifting techniques to Gundersen Lutheran." The objective of the Safe Lifting Leadership Award is to encourage other institutions to follow the lead of “best practices” institutions in their attempts to instill permanent, sustainable culture change – a so-called “culture of safety” – within their organizations. Patient safety, advocacy for healthcare excellence, successful implementation of safe lifting initiatives, and willingness to share results and assist other institutions are among key evaluation criteria for the award.

For more information on the Safe Lifting Leadership Award or Liko’s sponsorship of the Safe Lifting Portal, contact

Liko – A Hill-Rom Company,
122 Grove Street,
Franklin, MA 02038;
telephone (888) 545-6671 or (508) 553-3993;
fax (508) 528-6642;

visit the Liko website at http://www.liko.com/
or visit http://www.safeliftingportal.com/

This press release was found here

Town Council Mtg Smry - 03/18/09

The collection of live reporting posts for the Town Council meeting 3/18/09 are here

• Live reporting - Administrator report
• Live reporting - legislation for action
• Live reporting - Audit report
• Live reporting: Town Council mtg 3/18/09

• Town Council - 3/18/09 - Agenda

Live reporting - Administrator report

Nutting - with a little knock on wood, we'll be able to meet the winter snow and ice with what we allocated (initially $700K and an additionally $600K)

GATRA - meeting today on how to keep them alive, the ridership is only 149/per week. They need 250-300 per week to meet their needs.

Meeting Friday for elected and Town officials with McGovern's office. Not for the public but FYI for those folks here.

Old business - none
New business -

Question, probably should have been asked earlier - where are we with the state and the possible new revenues?

Nutting - It might be several months before those local tax options are decided at the State level. I'll be putting the budget together assuming we don't get those.

Pfeffer - When the Haywood family donated it, it was a bandstand. In those days, folks didn't do gazebos, they built bandstands.

Vallee - I just want to go on record that I will not support the fee increases. It goes against what is supposed to be done at this time of recession/depression.

Motion - to go into executive session. Passed 8-0

Live reporting - legislation for action

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION

1. Resolution 09-15: Acceptance of Deed of Parcel 29A, Palomino Drive motion passed 8-0
   
2. Resolution 09-16: Acceptance of Deed of Parcel 29 B, Paddock Lane motion passed 8-0
3. Resolution 09-17: Declaration of Town-Owned Land as Surplus and Available for Disposition motion passed 8-0
4. Resolution 09-18: Appropriation Town Common Band Stand motion passed 8-0
5. Bylaw Amendment 09-631: Chapter 82 Fees, Appendix A, List of Service Fee Rates - 1st Reading motion passed 8-0

4 - We have known for a while that the band stand roof needed to be repaired. Since we first started talking about this, we did receive bids on the work (high of $88K, low of $48K).

Dave Roche, Building Commissioner
The base of the building was expanded at some point but the roof did not cover it creating a water problem.
The edges of the roof are rotted. It won't do anything really to change the appearance. Simply extend the roof by about a foot to provide the protection needed.
Later we can use the Town electrician to change the lighting.

We don't have the expertise to do the tile ourselves. The Historical Commission and everybody else requested to keep the tile.

Motion to amend to include the interest accrued.

McGann question to keep the work within the Town's contractors.
Nutting - the bids already came in, don't know where they are from but we need to take the lowest bid.

Gary McGarraher, Fire Chief
Explains the billing process involving Medicare rates, not using assignments any longer to ensure full recover of the funds,

It really is not an increase in rates, it is bundling it differently in order to capture the full Medicare amount.

McGann - in comparison to surrounding Towns, where are we?
Roche - we last changed the rates eight years ago. We are in some cases, incredibly low for comparable services. With the services we are offering, we were not covering our costs. Even though it is not the best time to do so, it is something that allows us to recover more of our costs.
The state will ask the communities to review the fees to ensure that they cover the budget.

Live reporting - Audit report

Susan Gagner
Jim Dacey
Auditor (fill in name later)

no material entries made to start the audit

The audit report can be found here (PDF)

Auditor recommendation to set up a capital account, current capital is budgeted by using "free cash"

Auditor recommendation on formal system to support data for utility abatements and adjustments for DPW

Q - Bartlett, we had a problem with reconciling ambulance reports from last time
A - Gagner, we have reconciled the first 6 months of 2009, we added a report to perform this audit and that why the item is no longer part of the report.

Q - Bartlett, and last year with the School problem
A - Gagner, the separation between entries has been set up, they don't have access to make ledger entries

Q - Bartlett, so this report covers the School's as well
A - Auditor, yes, this is completely covered, no issues found

Live reporting: Town Council mtg 3/18/09

Attending: Whalen, Mason, Vallee, Bartlett, Feeley, Pfeffer, Doak, McGann
Missing: Zollo,


A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – 3/4/09 Regular and Executive Session
motion to approve - passed 8-0

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
Nutting - non-union municipal, school, police have all stepped up to take the pay freeze this year
5 other unions, total 6 of 8 Town have agreed to take the freeze. Jeff thanks everyone to date. The School Admin, School Committee and teachers are working their side.

Pfeffer - comments open for 5 minutes, must be resident, will be recorded on camera, broadcast via internet and cable, no alias, must use real name

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS - none

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS - none

E. APPOINTMENTS - none

F. HEARINGS - none

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS - none