Jack Sauer, chair of the Lafayette County Hospital Committee called the meeting held Thursday, Sept. 8 to order.
    Coming out of closed session the committee approved a 4% raise for nursing, lab, radiology, pharmacy and therapy positions. This will need to be approved by Human Resources Committee and the Lafayette County Board.
    Staff updates: Interviewed four candidates for the hospital pharmacy position. An offer was made to one candidate and will know by the end of the week if she accepts. There is a part-time dietary position open. Offered a full-time nursing position and she will start in October. All nursing positions are full. A part-time RN with benefits position is open and an offer is out and waiting for confirmation.
    Nursery build-out update: looking into heating options. Possibly hooking into an existing source or maybe a new unit for the roof.
    The committee approved a five-year lease for a Stryker Neptune from Stryker of Kalamazoo, Mich. A Stryker Neptune is a self-contained waste management system. This portable unit will handle all the fluids and blood that the OR produces and will protect staff from exposure to these biohazardous fluids. It also has a smoke evacuation system. This is an unlevied item. The five-year lease price tag is just under $12,000 per year with a $1 buyout at the end of the lease. This will be a patient charge item, so the hospital will recoup some of the lease monies.