By Monica Wepking, Editor Wagner Community Memorial Hospital-Avera held their annual membership meeting on Tuesday, September 22, 2009 and elected new board members. Incumbent Dave Kotab of Wagner was re-elected. New to the board will be Dave Andrews who works for the Corps of Engineers in Pickstown part-time and is retired military, and Daryl Dusharm who is the Lake Andes Health Care Center Administrator. Leaving the board was Joan Wagner of Lake Andes and Jan Coleman of Wagner. Continuing on the Board of Directors are: Eldon Ridgway, Merle Bartunek, Dorothy Holzbauer, Ken Thaler, Jean Pirner, and Ann Freier-Metzger. Bryan Slaba, hospital CEO/Administrator, provided a power point presentation on the hospital's 2010 vision. This past year the hospital opened a new addition, which included a new entry, physical therapy, clinics, and urgent care. Urgent care has been seeing 100 patients a month whereby clinic rates are charged not emergency rates, according to Slaba. "With our visiting doctor program we are now seeing general out-patient surgeries here twice a week." Most recently the former clinic area was renovated to house the lab. The former lab is now being renovated to house radiology. The next phase of the 2010 vision will start in May 2010 with a new inpatient wing that will be built between the two existing wings to the east. With this addition the hospital will have the 20 beds that they are licensed for and hope to have all construction completed by December 2011. Slaba also explained that there will be e-care available in the new wing. This is where a nurse can call a specialist via phone and connect with the patient through monitors, camera and microphone. "It will be just like the doctor is in the room, but can't actually touch the patient," said Slaba. Even though the hospital spent a lot of money on an addition and renovations it's $300,000 better off this year than last year, according to Slaba. The hospital posts $12 - $13 million in assets.