Administrators at Newman Regional Health are using several avenues in an effort to ensure the hospital’s 2020 bottom line is in better shape than the 2019 final number.
Last year, the hospital suffered a $2.6 million net loss. Chief Executive Officer Bob Wright says the hospital followed the state trend of lower inpatient volume and resulting revenues, in part because the 2018-19 flu season was milder than expected. For December, outpatient and other patient volumes were also lower than budgeted.
Wright tells KVOE News the hospital has made two adjustments leading into this year.
Wright has also said the hospital should have a larger complement of specialists, which will provide more revenue to the hospital this year.
Hospital administrators are also hoping lawmakers can pass Medicaid expansion this session after a compromise was announced between Governor Laura Kelly and Republicans early this month.
Separately, the board approved an agreement to host medical records on site instead of at a Meditech facility in Austin, Texas. Wright says this will help to trim costs for the hospital, even though this is a $1 million venture, and it will also pay for itself by the third or fourth year of the arrangement. In addition, records will be available immediately instead of having a lag time when they are sent offsite or retrieved electronically from Texas.
