Newman Regional Health had some positive financial results last year, but preliminary end-of-year financial reports show a loss for overall operations.
Following Wednesday’s monthly Board of Trustees meeting, Chief Executive Officer Bob Wright said the overall net loss was around $770,000. The main reason for that, according to Wright, was not being fully staffed at Newman Cardiology for much of the year.
Being a smaller hospital, Wright says going through a year without full staff can have a bigger financial impact than it would on a larger medical operation. He says the hospital had around $55 million in revenue, and with just over 20 physicians associated with the hospital, that averages out to around $1.5 million in referral revenue per doctor.
In addition, emergency department traffic was marginally higher in large part due to light flu traffic at the start and the end of last year. Inpatient numbers were also down slightly. On the positive side, Wright says provider clinics did well last year.
Wright says the hospital is actively recruiting so the Cardiology Department can return to 2.5 cardiologists, the level it had attained back in 2017.
Looking ahead to 2019, Wright expects an increase in emergency department traffic — with a catch.
After several years with significant capital improvements, the hospital does not have anything major planned for this year. Wright says that approach will help the hospital’s cash on hand.
