A combination of surging COVID-19 cases, staffing shortages, overtime for current employees and payments to contract labor served to offset increased patient revenues at Newman Regional Health last month.
January revenues were about $120,000 below budget despite a busy month for patient traffic. Following the hospital’s Board of Trustees monthly meeting Wednesday, Chief Executive Officer Bob Wright said Newman Regional Health is not alone in trying to adjust to staffing issues.
January had strong patient numbers almost all month, even though omicron variant caseload numbers began trending sharply lower shortly after Jan. 15. Current COVID numbers remain low with two COVID patients as of Tuesday.
Separately, the hospital’s Board of Trustees approved over $475,000 to replace the aging laparoscopic equipment. Wright says the new equipment should last up to six years, depending on the component, before needing to be replaced again.
