The Annual Board Meeting is slated for December 19 at 6:00 pm, at the Big Sandy Medical Center. You are invited to attend and explore the newly remodelled dining room, enjoy a warm meal, and be entered in for door prizes. While there is a Board meeting every month, the annual meeting functions a little differently. In this meeting, new members are elected, by-laws and policies are reviewed and the financial audit is explored. There will also be a “Year in Review” presentation to see all of the wonderful updates and changes that have been made since last year’s annual meeting.
The Board of Directors is responsible, in conjunction with the facility staff, for developing plans to accomplish the organization’s mission: “To provide quality patient care in an innovative and professional manner.” The Board has the final say on all financial decisions made in the facility, approves the annual budget, the CEO wage, and ensures that facility funds cover facility expenses etc. The Board is comprised of five members, currently, Bob Nelson, Anna Bold, Ann Quinn, Dr. Karen Baumann, and Amber Terry. They have guided the facility through the changes brought forth in healthcare regulation, supported projects like the new clinic building, the kitchen addition and dining room expansion, and also have a say in the doctors and providers that come to work here in our community.
There are two seats available for election this year, both are three-year terms. Bob Nelson and Amber Terry have each expressed interest in continuing their service for another term, however they must be re-elected to their seat. Nominations are open for any other community members who are interested in serving on the Board of Directors. Please contact Jim Ray, Ann Quinn, or Danielle Weaver if interested in having your name on the ballot. Nominations must be received before November 21.
The five members of our Board volunteer their time, about 5-6 hours a month, to help ensure the continued success of our great facility. They also work with a management consulting firm, Cypress Healthcare, to help provide guidance around the ins and outs of all of the rules and regulations that are a part of working with CMS (Center for Medicare/Medicaid) The individuals who give of their energy are not just vital to the facility’s success, but since BSMC is a non-profit organization, that places the legal responsibility for the welfare and actions of BSMC on the Board.
As is defined on the Montana Non-profit Association website, the duties of a Board Member of any non-profit organization are as follows:
Duty of care—a director of a nonprofit organization shall discharge all his/her duties as a director, including those performed as a committee member:
In good faith;
With the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a similar position would exercise under similar circumstances; and
In a manner the director reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the organization.
The duty of care entails a duty of reasonable inquiry. Each director is obligated to ask questions and demand information to allow him/her to have sufficient information and understanding to make decisions he/she reasonably believes are in the non-profit’s best interests. This duty means that the director must make time to attend meetings, and come prepared to participate.
Duty of loyalty—Directors are obligated to exercise an undivided and unselfish loyalty to the organization they serve. Directors must exercise their obligations and powers in the best interests of the organization and its charitable mission, not in their own interests or in the interests of another person or entity (even if charitable in nature). To assure that directors are operating within the scope of the duty of loyalty they are required to complete conflict of interest disclosures annually and acknowledge any conflict that may arise during the year.
Duty of obedience—Directors are obligated to further the mission of the organization they serve; to be faithful to its purposes and goals as defined by the articles of incorporation and by-laws; to act in conformity with all state, federal and local laws; and to obey board-approved organizational policies.
To fulfil these duties, regular meetings are held one evening a month and with the addition of one annual meeting a year. There are occasionally special meetings or retreats to attend as well. Regular monthly meetings and the Annual meetings are open to the public, and public comment is always an agenda item. Join the next regular meeting on November 21, 2024 at 5:30 p m in the conference room, and be sure to attend and cast your vote on December 19, 2024 in the dining room for the Annual Meeting.
