Houston, MO— Texas County Memorial Hospital has received approval for approximately $580,000 in Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) Horizon One funding, providing support for infrastructure and operational improvements throughout the hospital, board members heard at their monthly meeting Tuesday.
The funding, approved through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), will support five projects at TCMH. The hospital is currently obtaining updated quotes and preparing to move forward with the projects. The improvements will focus on energy efficiency, security and the equipment and systems that support daily hospital operations and patient care.
The projects include central heat and air replacements in physical therapy, dietary and MRI; installation of a CT humidifier; replacement of lighting throughout the hospital with LED lighting and motion/light-harvesting controls to improve energy efficiency; door access control improvements in the surgery and emergency departments to enhance security; and central sterile water filtration in surgery to support sterile processing and surgical services.
“These projects may not always be the things patients see when they walk through our doors, but they are incredibly important to the operation of the hospital and the care we provide,” Bill Bridges, TCMH chief executive officer, said. “This funding allows us to make important infrastructure improvements that will help us operate more efficiently, maintain a safe environment and support our staff and patients for years to come.”
In addition to the Horizon One funding, TCMH recently received a separate $50,000 RHTP grant to support emergency medical services education. The funding will help cover staff education hours, computers, equipment and other educational needs.
“Rural hospitals rely on strong emergency medical services to provide timely care to patients in our communities,” Bridges said. “This $50,000 grant will help support EMS education by covering staff training time, computers and other necessary equipment. Those resources will help our EMS team continue building their skills and being prepared to provide care when patients need it most.”
April Crites, TCMH quality and risk management director, shared patient satisfaction highlights with the board. Surgery satisfaction scores increased 7%, emergency department satisfaction scores increased 5%, while inpatient satisfaction scores decreased 9%. Crites noted that the inpatient survey response total also declined during the reporting period, which can influence the overall satisfaction score.
“We’re encouraged to see improvements in both our surgery and emergency department satisfaction scores this month,” Crites said. “We will continue to listen to our patients and use their feedback to recognize what our teams are doing well and identify areas where we can continue to improve.”
Patient comments also reflected the positive work being done in the surgery department, with several highlighting the team’s professionalism and teamwork.
Bridges shared with board members that he and Marla Reppond, TCMH pharmacist, will travel to Washington, D.C., next week as part of the Missouri Hospital Association’s federal advocacy efforts. Reppond, a subject matter expert on pharmacy and TCMH’s 340B program, will bring her expertise to discussions during the trip.
“We’ll have an opportunity to discuss some of the issues that have a direct impact on rural hospitals,” Bridges said. “Marla brings valuable expertise in pharmacy and our 340B program, and we want to make sure our congressional representatives understand how these issues affect hospitals like TCMH and the communities we serve.”
Bridges also said the hospital will host a legislative tour on Tuesday, November 10. Local and state representatives will be invited to tour the hospital and learn more about the services provided to Texas County and surrounding communities.
Pamperien presented the August financials, which reflected an increase of $503,386 in overall revenues compared with budgeted monthly expectations.
“Our outpatient revenue increased $606,722, a 7.5 percent increase, and our inpatient revenue decreased $96,805, a 5.2 percent decrease from our budgeted monthly expectations,” Pamperien said.
According to Pamperien, the hospital had 92 admissions in August, down 23 admissions from the same time frame in 2025, with 640 admissions year-to-date. Monthly operating expenses were up slightly, by $25,498, compared to budget.
The financial report reflected a positive operating gain of $198,546 for August, with a year-to-date loss of $973,549. Earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization (EBIDA) for the month were positive at $470,051.
Present at the meeting were Bridges; Pamperien; Crites; Courtney Owens, chief nursing officer; Helania Wulff, public relations and marketing; Kristina Grant, DO, vice chief of staff; board members Jim Perry, OD and Jennifer Hugenot. Jerri Crump joined the meeting via teleconference.
The next meeting of the TCMH board of trustees is scheduled for Tuesday, October 27, at noon in the hospital board room.
