Board approves service cuts
Hand in Hand would not be affected
By Brandy Nance
Originally published 02:22 p.m., February 25, 2009
Updated 02:39 p.m., February 25, 2009
The Newman Regional Health Board of Trustees voted unanimously this afternoon to accept a restructuring plan intended to revive the hospital's dwindling income.
The board heard the proposal before going into an executive session for about two hours to discuss the plan and the personnel that will be affected by the changes.
The proposal, discussed in public session today, includes several changes to services at the hospital including eliminating Newman Home Health, the employee assistance program and Recovery Road. Among other changes recommended were completing a renovation of the third floor in the next 120 days and consolidating services operations from four floors to three floors.
Other moves including the possibility of forming a Public Building Commission, which would need the approval of Lyon County. It would allow the hospital to refinance bonds at Lyon County’s rate. Total savings of the PBC would be $3,334,473 over 10 years.
A department analysis was done on each department to realize savings by department. This realized a savings of about $1,853,000. This would include letting employees go home when census was down.
The total financial impact of the proposed restructuring would be about $3,800,000.
“That’s not going to happen all at once,” Chief Executive Officer Robert Driewer said. “It will take some time.”
Driewer said while the amount looks large at first glance, the hospital reported a loss of more than $1.6 million last year and lost more than $579,000 the first month of this year.
Tammy Hoyt, an employee of Newman Home Health, spoke to the board about the proposed changes, which have not been voted on yet.
“To say we’re a duplication of services is an insult,” Hoyt told the board. “I feel we provide the highest quality in nursing care in this community. ... We are a part of Newman Regional Health.”
Hoyt spoke through tears about her passion for the field and her profession.
“What we can do is provide the best care for this community to provide a positive image for this hospital and that’s what we do and we do it well,” she said. “We serve a 50-mile radius, infants to 100 plus years of age. We keep patients out of the hospital which doesn’t affect further losses for the hospital. We’re able to send patients home sooner because you feel we can provide care in-home.”
After executive session was called, Hoyt spoke privately about the impact on the Emporia community if Newman Home Health is shut down.
“I’m very worried,” she said, adding that she has four children she would have to take out of Emporia schools and her husband would have to leave his job as well if Home Health closed.
Hoyt said the country has a 600,000 shortage of nurses and Emporia’s top nurses will be forced to leave here for areas that are hiring.
More details about the plan will be posted soon.
alfalfa (anonymous) says...
Home health was a God send when my grandparents were in need of additional help, as was Hospice. Too bad the best programs are almost always the first cut.
February 25, 2009 at 3:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
displacedhospitalworker (anonymous) says...
It is sad to see @ a time of need that value hosptial services are cut just to save a dollar. Since when did the value of a human life amount to so little?? The administration of NRH should feel bad about the decision to close departments when their administrative assistants have assistants of their own, this just proves that the big dogs are taken care of while us commoners are just disposable. The hospital is so worried about the relationship with the community but how do you have a relationship with the community when you cut off services? Well at least Bob and Julie get to keep their jobs, they will not have to worry how to pay there bills in the future. I have been a devoted employee for years but this former employee will not longer be seeking services @ NRH--how is that for a relationship with the community???
February 25, 2009 at 4:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dayjob55 (anonymous) says...
displacedhospitalworker is right on. Home health and recovery road are vital to the community but the powers that be will always have their little helpers who have helpers who have helpers. The reason the patient count is down is because there are already so few services offered here that people have to leave town to get what they need and then once they are in another town they find wonderful options that aren't available here. Maybe it's because too many specialists have been run out of town by making their lives too miserable here with the politics that this wonderful small town enjoys. Here's hoping that those powers that be need what's not available and are also forced out of town.
February 25, 2009 at 6:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nurse4hire (anonymous) says...
I'm sure that Newman's did not arrive in this financial crisis overnight, maybe someone should look at the Chief Financial Officer to see why other changes weren't made years ago to avoid this terrible community loss. I hope the community is aware of high quality, experienced nurses that will be forced to leave. Did the hospital even try to keep these nurses and um let go of the new graduate nurses ?
February 25, 2009 at 8:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CRAZE (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
February 25, 2009 at 8:28 p.m. ( permalink )
gooseylucy (anonymous) says...
What hurts the most is, as a so-far still employed hospital worker, why were we kept in the dark for the past few weeks. We knew that something was coming, but everything was kept hush-hush. We had to read it in the paper. Say what you will about Terry Lambert, but at least he always kept the hospital workers informed of such things, BEFORE it came out in the paper!!! Bad move NRH Administration!!
February 26, 2009 at 8:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
grumpy (anonymous) says...
fyi marion county has 2 hospitals and is building a new 10 million dollar hospital maybe we should talk to their FCO.
February 26, 2009 at 11:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
allintogether (anonymous) says...
Just to add some context to this discussion. For FY 2007 NRH posted total operating revenues of $49,058,841 and operating expenses of $48,166,572 resulting in operating income of $892,269. In the black, but just barely. Home health is a great service for a community. The problem is typically not the hospital when it comes to whether or not the program gets cut.
Historically, home health has had a very volatile reimbursement rate. In retirement states like Florida or Arizona, there is sufficient volume to support home health services and the reimbursement rate from medicare or a third party payer can fluctuate quite a bit without having the service be threatened. In a community such as Lyon county there most likely isn't the volume to support the service if the reimbursement isn't there. The cost of providing these services is relatively fixed and if reimbursement for the service is in a contraction then the service will be threatened if the loss is unsustainable. With a operating income of almost $900,000 NRH cannot sustain much of a loss.
I don't think it is productive or fair to totally blame this on NRH administration. It wouldn't matter who you had in the C suite in our local hospital, these challenges would remain and a different CEO wouldn't have substantive control over the rate of reimbursement ANY payer wanted to pay. Administrators are faced with the challenge of providing the most vital services to the community working with the resources they have. Scenarios are played out every year month to month. Sure, you can keep home health for 50 people (made up number to illustrate the point) but that means getting rid of or significantly reducing the role of the cancer center and OBGYN that serves thousands.
I am positive that NRH's C suite would like nothing better than to live in the land of unlimited financial resources that congress thinks we live in, but they have a tough balancing act. No money, no mission. They have to do the most good with what they have. I can't tell anyone on this blog how to feel about this. Its frustrating to say the least.
February 26, 2009 at 11:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
irritated (anonymous) says...
please read my comment made on the first article that came out in the Emporia Gazette. Thanks
February 26, 2009 at 1:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
inthefield (anonymous) says...
For Mrs. Hoyt to state that Newman's Home Health provides the highest quality of nursing care in this community is like stating, Burger King has the best burger in town..its an OPINION. The very reason there are other Home Health agencies in our community, is to give our community a CHOICE..Newman's has had such a monopoly on everything in this town, for, far way to long, from the hospital, to Home Health, to the DME. Maybe, just maybe Newman's got to big for its britches, and it needed a reality check!
February 26, 2009 at 1:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
irritated (anonymous) says...
To the response above concerning Paula Taylor, I feel that statement was a low blow. Paula has given our hospital many years of service. I may not have agreed with every decision she made, however I feel that every choice she made was done from the heart. Numerous times when I was asking for help to assist my patient and none could be found it was Paula who came to my assistance. She has worked the floor beside me when we were short staffed. When I was just learning, she was always there with answers or ways to find them. Paula started at the bottom and worked her way up, that is to be admired. I do not know her outside of work, however, I am proud to have worked under her and beside her. It is very easy for us to sit back and make assumptions but we all know what assume spells. I am sure she was just as stressed as all of us if not more so over the past few months. I challenge you to go to KU Med, Wesley, or Stormont Vail and find anyone in the management position she was in working the floor. It just does not happen!! In my opinion, jumping ship is far from what Paula has done. First, she is still employeed there. Second, do you KNOW she voluntarily retired or was it offered with a great push? NRH is known for doing this, I've watched it several times in the past. However, even if you are correct and she did "jump ship", who in thier right mind would stay on a sinking one?
February 26, 2009 at 6:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )