The return to normal continues at Newman Regional Health.
In fact, Chief Executive Officer Bob Wright says everything is up and running except bringing volunteers back into the fold. He plans on a status update as soon as the back half of next week.
Plexiglass barriers are being installed at all visitor stations. Mail service as provided by volunteers would likely be next to return, followed by the gift shop and the volunteer stations throughout the hospital.
Wright updated KVOE News after the hospital Board of Trustees’ monthly meeting Wednesday. He says the hospital has not had any coronavirus admissions in a week after a small secondary spike earlier in the month.
Separately, net income for May was bolstered by over $2.6 million in federal financial aid to offset the impact of coronavirus. All told, Newman Regional Health received over $10 million in advance payments for Medicare reimbursements, but the repayment for that is supposed to start in August. The hospital has also received a $6 million grant through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program and $1.5 million from the CARES Act. Wright says the hospital is also applying for reimbursement of certain COVID-related expenses to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and it has to make sure those expenses aren’t offset through other means.
