Meet Dr. Lecia Scotford and some of her accomplishments? Hundreds of millions of dollars in construction spending is being invested in healthcare facilities around the state, most of it in Anchorage and the Mat-Su, though a new dental facility was recently completed in Dillingham. Dillingham Home to New Dental Facility Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation, or BBAHC, in September opened doors to a new, state-of-the-art dental health facility and administrative complex in Dillingham. The facility is located on the grounds of the Kanakanak Hospital and will serve the region. The dental clinic project can be attributed to BBAHC Chief Operating Officer Lecia Scotford, MD, as well as her talented projects department team.
The project took two years from beginning to end. The business plan was created during the summer of 2014 and was approved that fall. The team broke ground in June 2015. The building was completed and operational in September 2016. The building design was a partnership between BBAHC, architectural firm Livingston Sloan, and its engineering consultant teams as well as initial assistance from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The 15,531-square-foot, two-story building meets the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards, meaning it uses less water and energy in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Much of the money went toward new boilers, air-handling units, three generators, and a twenty-thousand-gallon fuel tank, Miller says, “so we have redundancy in the case of an emergency or power outage.” Making infrastructure repairs to a busy hospital is a challenge, she says, but it was necessary both to be compatible with new industry standards for backup power and because some of the machinery was out – dated and in need of replacement. “We often refer to it as making repairs on your car while it’s going down the road— and still maintaining the safety of those individuals riding in the vehicles,” she says. Power must be switched over to test gen – erators, which is possibly the most difficult aspect of the construction job, considering many patients are on respirators or moni – tors that are connected to power. Miller says employees and administration pick a time of day that is well staffed and generally calm to test or connect the new equipment.
In addition to the infrastructure, Alaska Regional made significant upgrades to its Women’s unit, which includes the labor and delivery, postpartum, and neonatal in – tensive care units. “We did all the nurse’s stations, floor – ing patient rooms, all the furniture, some of the equipment, and we added the kingsized Tempur-Pedic® beds [in the birthing recovery unit],” she says. The hospital completed the family birth center earlier this year and was preparing to open its newly renovated medical oncology unit in early November, with private rooms and updated hallways and waiting spaces. Now, the work is focused on the operating rooms, recovery area, and pre-operating area. “We have continued to invest in new equip – ment, including a replacement MRI and a re – placement mammography machine,” Miller says. “We are also pending funding for reno – vation for our fourth- and fifth-floor spaces.”
Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation P.O. Box130 Dillingham, Alaska 99576 Dr. Lecia Scotford, MD, MHA; lscotford@bbahc.org Executive Vice-President and Chief Operations Officer Testimony for the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs regarding H.R. 4289 May 18, 2016 The Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation (BBAHC) is pleased to appear before this Subcommittee in support of H.R. 4289, legislation introduced by Representative Don Young which would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to transfer certain Indian Health Service (IHS) property to BBAHC by warranty deed. The property is critically important to BBAHC’s construction and operation of a new free-standing dental clinic.
The ISDEAA and BBAHC’s agreements with the IHS give BBAHC the right to acquire fee title to all federal property that BBAHC uses to provide these health services. BBAHC requested that IHS transfer legal title to a 1.474 acre parcel of land within the Kanakanak Hospital compound so that BBAHC could use non-IHS funds to construct a new, larger dental facility on the transferred parcel. While the IHS agreed to the transfer, IHS treated the transfer as a discretionary donation of excess property under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (FPASA) and GSA regulations. Using FPASA and GSA rules allows the IHS to transfer the property by quitclaim deed and include whatever terms and conditions IHS wants in the deed.
Even if BBAHC were to use its own funds or other third party funds, the quitclaim deed requires IHS permission for any major change or improvement in the property. IHS justifies its position by claiming that all transfers of federal property to ISDEAA contractors and compactors must be made under the FPASA and GSA rules. This position, however, is contrary to the GSA regulations at 41 C.F.R. § 102-75.110, exempting transfers of real property from the FPASA and GSA rules if the transfer is authorized by a special statute that directs or requires an Executive agency to transfer or convey title to specifically described real property in accordance with the provisions of the statute.
The Secretary will retain any and all liability for environmental contamination in existence on the property prior to the transfer of title to BBAHC. Language is included to provide the Secretary with and easement and access to the property as reasonably necessary to satisfy any retained obligation or liability of the Secretary. Finally, the Secretary must comply with the notice of hazardous substance activity and warranty requirements of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
To eliminate communication errors and e effectiveness of other staff members with physicians, it’s pivotal to a centralised one- all availability. By having a single, up-to-date, real time on-call list accessible from anyone’s mobiles. Automate “Patient Appointment Management” Tasks : One of the secrets to improve the performance of hospitals is by automating the repeated tasks, that previously handled manually by staff members. One typical example would be appointment booking by phone with a real person. Lecia Scotford is a results oriented and experienced healthcare strategic planner. Skilled in communication, performance optimization, interpersonal ssing and implementing dynamic changes effortlessly.