Hospital’s interim CEO getting to know community

By Jan Schultz
Imperial Republican Correspondent
Mel McNea says he is working hard on goals at Chase County Community Hospital and Clinic.
As the interim CEO at the facilities, taking on the position in August, McNea spoke at a community meeting Oct. 28 after an invitation from the Imperial Lions Club, whose monthly meeting was opened up to the public.
A native of Bottineau, North Dakota, which has a population of 3,000, McNea said he knows how important a hospital is in small towns like Imperial. It’s vital that the relationship of the facilities and community is strong, noting that Imperial has been a very welcoming community.
His background in the medical field started as an ultrasound technologist in North Platte, and he recalled traveling then to Imperial to provide those services. He advanced in his career to be Director of Radiology at Great Plains Health in North Platte, and eventually rose to CEO there.
He retired in 2021, and most recently served as interim CEO at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff before taking the interim CEO position here. He lives in McCook, where he and his wife moved a couple years ago, making them closer to their daughter, who is a Certified Nurse Anesthetist there.
In his address, McNea noted CCCH and clinic have exceptional staff, and he has enjoyed getting to know them.
The culture in a facility is important, he said, as well as finances - his top two areas of concern in his position here.
He noted that 40% of hospitals in Nebraska are operating in the red, and acknowledged the CCCH/clinic is among that group, but it “has the opportunity to turn that around.” He said they need to close an operational deficit of about half a million dollars to be back in the black.
Some of the goals and changes he told the group he wants to achieve include:
1) A culture of openness, teamwork and responsiveness at the facilities;
2) Remove the “barrier” between the clinic and hospital, noting they should operate as one unit;
3) He is now holding a “safety huddle” each morning with the executive team to list situations at the facilities that did not go well;
4) “Employee rounding” where they ask employees about their concerns and work to fix that; and
 5) Begin facilitating walk-ins at the clinic. They are also exploring home visits to patients.
Regarding finances, McNea reviewed the revenue cycle a hospital goes through, noting it’s a very complicated process, considering all the state, federal and private third party payers involved in payment for a patient’s care. He said staff are focused on getting the billing correct to prevent delays in payments. Getting the correct registration information at the start of a patient experience is vital, he said.
Some review of the medical staff was given during his address.
He noted a new orthopedic surgeon will be coming twice a month and provide some new procedures especially in the area of hip and knee replacements. A new general surgeon is joining the staff in January and a urologist now visits regularly.
One of his other goals is to form a community focus group for the medical facilities and their services.
McNea said he will likely stay on as interim CEO until a new full-time person is hired. The board has received some applications for the position from interested individuals, he said, believing the board will begin direct work on a search in January
He and his wife, Michelle, have a daughter and two sons, and soon-to-be 10 grandchildren.
Abby Cyboron, who was CEO before McNea came on board, is now serving as Chief Financial Officer for the hospital/clinic.
In addition to a dozen Lions Club members, 15 community residents and hospital/clinic employees attended McNea’s Lions-sponsored program last month at Mid-Plains Community College.v