Financial goals and objectives were the main talking point during a joint meeting this week involving the Newman Regional Health Board of Trustees and Lyon County commissioners.
While this year’s finances are above projections, the hospital has been in the red consistently for several years. Newman Regional Health Chief Executive Officer Bob Wright tells KVOE News much of that has to do with charity care or so-called “bad debt.”
Wright says the hospital is around $160,000 ahead of projections for this calendar year. He says increased patient volumes at various clinics has helped to push revenues ahead of expectations.
The hospital has taken on several major expenditures in recent years, including the hyperbaric oxygen chamber at the Wound Care Center and a new emergency department. Wright says those large-scale projects won’t be so commonplace the next few years, and capital improvement projects will be limited to 40 percent of cash flow.
In addition, Wright says Newman Regional Health plans to increase its cash on hand from 25 days to 60. Wright says it would be nice to have more cash on hand, but rather quick processing turnarounds for Medicare payments mean it’s not necessary to have more available cash.
