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Garfield County Health Center racing CMS deadline as census and staffing fall
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Summary
County health administrators told commissioners and the Health Center Advisory Board that a contracted lab director is filing a CMS plan of correction by March 19 ahead of a March 20 survey deadline, while the facility considers temporary staff-hour reductions after census fell to eight residents and explores an intergovernmental transfer for short-term funds.
Garfield County health officials told the county commissioners and the Health Center Advisory Board on March 18 that the hospital is under a time-sensitive compliance process while patient counts and clinic volume remain below prior levels.
Hospital administrator Krista Wright and Director of Nursing Paige Powell reported recent lab repairs and partial ER painting but said a contracted laboratory director, Stacy Lafountain, ASCP, is completing a plan of correction and will submit findings to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services by 5:00 p.m. on March 19 to meet a CMS deadline reported as March 20. Wright said some clinical staff lack the formal training required to run certain CLIA labs until they complete training from the contracted lab director.
The advisory board discussed operational impacts of a reduced census. Powell reported the facility’s recent counts for 2026 as 39 (category not specified in the minutes), 278 ER clinic visits, 60 X-rays and 682 lab tests year to date, and said the nursing home census had fallen to eight residents. Board members and commissioners discussed temporarily reducing staff hours until census and service demand recover; commissioners did not adopt a permanent staffing change at the meeting.
To address short-term cash flow and reimbursement concerns, administrators raised the intergovernmental transfer (IGT) option. Krista Wright said the county is eligible for the IGT program and that Garfield County has participated before; she stated a county transfer of $260,000 would return about $314,000 under the program and that the program’s application deadline was the day of the meeting.
Board members also reported ongoing recruitment and outreach efforts: a local newspaper ad, radio spots, and a Healthy Living magazine article; the ombudsman will send facility placement resources and assist with referrals. The board discussed improving lab workflow by interfacing the lab system with EClinical and PointClickCare to enable specimen labeling and better electronic data sharing with regional hospitals.
Administrators described other service developments under consideration, including interest from Dr. Rauh in offering platelet-rich plasma injections as a non-cortisone treatment option for joint pain, and a grant proposal that could fund a handicapped-accessible van for rural outreach visits.
The advisory board approved the minutes noted in the packet and set its next meeting for May 20, 2026. The county commissioners recessed for lunch at noon and adjourned at 5:00 p.m.