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*The board welcomed new members Ross Amundson (Eden Lake Township) and Greg Ruhland (city of Eden Valley) and these two members plus re-elected members Don Anderson (city of Paynesville), Bob Brauchler (city of Regal), Diane Rothstein (city of St. Martin), and Carolyn Swyter (at-large member) were given the oath of office as they started four-year terms.

*The board reorganized for 2005: re-electing chair Don Thomes, vice chair Vicki Ruegemer, treasurer Swyter, and clerk Rothstein; setting its meeting time as the fourth Wednesday of the month at 8 p.m. in the Blakely Room at the hospital; and approving Farmers and Merchants State Bank as its bank of record, the Paynesville Press as its official newspaper; Frauenshuh and Spooner as its legal counsel; and McGladrey and Pullen as its auditing firm.

The board also kept its reimbursement at $50 per meeting and officially set its mileage rate at the maximum allowed by the IRS (currently 40.5¢ per mile).

*The board approved committee assignments for 2005:
Building and Grounds: Amundson,Dr. Mike Hansen, Sarah Olmscheid, and Ruhland
Finance: Don Anderson, Rothstein, and Thomes
Joint Management: Anderson, Bob Brauchler, and Ruegemer
Personnel: Joe Musel, Ruegemer, Kay Spooner, Carolyn Swyter, and Thomes

*The board approved its financial statements for November and December, both profitable months, with PAHCS having a $495,300 profit through three months in its 2005 fiscal year, surpassing its budgeted goal of $324,900 in profits so far.

*The board met in a closed session for 75 minutes to discuss competitive market strategy.

*The board approved the appointments of Lian Chang, M.D. (psychiatrist), and Daniel Schupp, M.D. (radiologist) to the consulting staff; and of Charlotte Granite, P.A., and Jacqueline Osterhaus, P.A., to the ancillary staff; and re-appointed Kevin Zimmer, CRNA, to the ancillary staff. The board extended the provisional periods for Scott Swenson, M.D. (radiology), and Pal VanGorp, M.D. (C-section privileges) because both cover call for PAHCS but have not actually done any work here yet.

*The board, on the recommendation of the medical staff, appproved granting new privileges to Diane Duckworth, M.D. (OB-GYN), who will start doing hysteroscopic sterilization, a noninvasive technique instead of a traditional hysterectomy.

*The board approved purchasing a new anesthesia machine, costing $60,000. This is a change to the capital expenditure budget previously approved by the board. PAHCS will not make another purchase for $67,000 this year (continuing to lease this equipment) in order to keep its total capital purchases around $1 million in 2005.