Newman Regional Health saw more than $1.5 million in net operating loss for 2008, the Newman Regional Health Board of Trustees learned during Wednesday’s board meeting.
According to a financial summary provided at the board meeting, Newman suffered a $1,655,187 operating loss for the year. The hospital expected an income of $481,733 for the year, making the loss unfavorable to their budget by $2,136,920.
A large contributing factor to the losses is a decrease in daily census and a decrease in admissions. For December, inpatient revenues came in under the expected amount by $798,230. There were 379 fewer patient days than budgeted and admissions to nearly all services across the board were down. Holly French, Newman’s chief financial officer, said she went back to 1996 and compared budgets.
“There aren’t any years that are close to the year that we have had in 2008,” French said. “... I think we can attribute that to economic conditions.”
Newman’s CEO Robert Driewer said there were several contributing factors, including a large loss of jobs in Emporia. He said this led to fewer patients in the community.
“2008 is not the way we would expect the hospital to perform in the future,” Driewer said.
The hospital is already underperforming for 2009, however.
“We’re going to try to get ahead of 2009,” Driewer said. “2008 is unacceptable.”
Driewer said all aspects of the hospital will be placed on the table for evaluation.
“We’re meeting twice a week to try to get ahead of this thing,” he said.
In other business:
F The board approved two capital equipment purchases. The first purchase is for a chiller machine for the hospital for $42,500. The second request is for a waste management system for surgery for $25,368. The waste management machine replaces a machine that has begun to leak fluid due to corrosion. This equipment will automatically empty and clean surgical waste canisters without exposing staff to the contents.
F Kathie Butcher, assistant administrator for quality services for Newman Regional Health, spoke to the board about quality improvement initiatives. In an effort to achieve more transparency, the hospital publishes quality data on its Web site. This month, the hospital will publish the patient satisfaction surveys for 2008. Between the third and fourth quarter and compared to the second quarter, two measures improved, six measures stayed the same and one declined.
justaflushaway (anonymous) says...
No, the people of Lyon County lost 1.5 million, Every time I walk through those new doors I laugh when I read its owned by the people of Lyon County,, what a damn joke. maybe some day they will STOP spending money on pretty projects there, but probably not. maybe the county commission should send Waters up there to put a stop to things she would not like being done at the hospital, or fire the CEO
January 29, 2009 at 8:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
spectator (anonymous) says...
Not that long ago, the hospital was going great guns and, almost overnight, it's in real bad shape. So was it really doing well or was that a lie? Is it in the pits now or is *that* a lie? Lambert wasn't that good of an administrator to begin with. Something's rotten here.
January 29, 2009 at 9:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justthefacts (anonymous) says...
I wonder how much of that is medicare write-offs? They know going into the first of the year how much that will be and they anticipate the losses but show it for shock value. I hope the board is smart enough to catch this.
January 30, 2009 at 7:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
slvrnblck (anonymous) says...
justaflushaway--
Just and FYI the CEO is new. He hasn't had time to right the ship yet. Everyone deserves a little time.
If you read the article you saw that patient #'s were way down. I think that combined with a poor economy and bad press from one of it's own doctors is what hurt the hospital's bottom line.
January 30, 2009 at 9:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
pizza (anonymous) says...
Too often folks blame "the economy" for their poor results. It's difficult to think there are that many elective admissions to the hospital that the economy would affect. I'm sure the bad press from the doctor didn't help. Do local doctors refer patients to Newman or elsewhere? Do potential patients have confidence in Newman or do they want to go elsewhere? There are numerous bad stories out there about patients experience at Newman. On the other hand I'm sure there are some good ones as well but they don't get the coverage. It seems it is getting more and more difficult for any smaller business to survive when there are city hospitals close by who can offer many more services. I would, however, think the CFO could come up with a better answer than blame it on the economy.
January 30, 2009 at 12:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
PeanutButterJellyTime (anonymous) says...
At one time NRH was doing very well, that is no lie. The Tyson layoffs had a huge impact on NRH as many patients either relocated for another job or just can't afford medical treatment. That figure probably does include a large amount of write-offs; NRH offers financial assistance to those in the community that cannot afford the cost of medical care and keep in mind the chunk of bad debt from those patients who are not paying what they owe. Administration at NRH honestly has the communities best intrest in mind, they are not spending money on "pretty projects," they are doing what it takes to build a healthcare facility to meet the needs of your community. Updating machinery, remodeling and expanding the building to bring new services closer to "home." These are all things you asked for when complaining that you have to drive out of town for specialized exams, treatments, or physicians. The Emporia community (including certain physicians) needs to stop bashing the hospital administration and employees and work together to help this facility before it closes its doors.
January 30, 2009 at 12:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
slvrnblck (anonymous) says...
The economy can be blamed, at least in part. If you were going to have elective surgery but are suddenly worried about your job or were having to shell out more money for gas and groceries and couldn't afford to add another bill to your current budget, you wouldn't pay for an elective surgery, which is where one could assume is where alot of the loss of patient days went.
January 30, 2009 at 1:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
YaHooSis48 (anonymous) says...
As a hospital employee I want you to know that we are committed to continuous improvement in everything we do with exceeding customer expectations as our goal. And yes, the people of Lyon County do own Newman Regional Health; however keep in mind that the county has not supported the hospital with one red cent since 1922. Sometimes the people of Lyon County speak knowing nothing about healthcare, this is why we have a management group doing that. We believe that feelings of compassion and trust come from a committment to the highest standards. We are dedicated to community service and to meeting the changing needs of our customers.One of the hospitals greatest jobs is managing resources wisely. I enjoy my job very much. One of the reasons is because every single day I get to reach out to someone and say, "How can I help you?". Many times it's responding to the statement, "I can't pay my bill, I just lost my job or I'm too sick to work." When I can't find a resource for that person other than an application to write off their hospital debt, I go home at night thanking God that maybe I made a difference in a person's life. I work for an employer who has an unwavering commitment to integrity. Newman Regional Health honors the community's trust in everything they do.
January 31, 2009 at 2:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )