It has been a busy time for staff and administrators at Newman Regional Health as coronavirus numbers continue to fluctuate in recent weeks.
Newman CEO Bob Wright says at this time there are six patients in the hospital’s COVID-19 unit. He says the past week has been a revolving door of admissions and discharges with at least one each day.
Wright adds the hospital is beginning to see younger patients coming into the unit.
Despite the consistent influx of patients, Wright was happy to say there has been no COVID spread amongst patients and staff within the hospital.
From a financial standpoint, the hospital is in a good position in terms of day’s cash on hand, however, Wright says there are some concerns when it comes to what the rules are with recent funds allocated to the hospital through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Advance Payment Program. According to Wright the hospital currently has over $10 million in allocations from the program that at this point Wright believes the hospital will have to pay back.
Wright says his understanding is that until that money is paid back the hospital will receive no money from Medicare which is half the hospital’s volume. If that occurs, Wright anticipates the hospital’s cash balance will drop significantly.
