Iberia Medical Center Board to vote on bylaw for appointing medical reps
Published 7:00 am Wednesday, July 24, 2019
- Changes to medical staff, board bylaws on Iberia Medical Center agenda
The Iberia Medical Center Board of Commissioners will vote on a bylaw change Thursday night to make its Medical Executive Committee the appointing authority for its representatives on the hospital’s board.
Two of the hospital’s board members are currently representatives of the medical staff. Under the current wording, the bylaws allow the Medical Executive Committee to recommend an appointee to the Iberia Parish Council for confirmation, with the council as the appointing authority.
The process came under scrutiny last fall, when two physicians said they were refused consideration for an upcoming board vacancy. Since then, legislation has been passed at the state level refining the process. The board’s bylaw change is designed to bring the hospital’s process in line with the state regulation.
Part of the legislation passed in the spring legislative session would require that the next vacant seat on the board would be filled through a medical staff appointment. That provision would leave current board member Burton Cestia without a seat on the board.
The board will also vote on the final approval of its $11-million revenue bond issue for infrastructure improvements.
Two items on the agenda, the capital outlay of $285,000 for a server farm expansion and a search for a new contract for the hospital’s automated medication dispensing system, highlight the need for replacement of some aging infrastructure. The driver for these changes, aside from the growth of the hospital’s campuses, is the fact that Microsoft will no longer support Windows 7 after 2020.
Many of the hospital’s computers are using that software, making the proposed changes timely.
The board will also vote to accept a bid on replacement of the air handler for the Emergency Room. The low bid of 125,700 was received from Gallo Mechanical LLC.
Also up for consideration is approval to seek bids for a pharmacy construction project.
The Iberia Medical Center Board of Commissioners will meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the IMC Board Room on the hospital’s main campus.
