Newman Regional Health board members approved a network infrastructure update and received a clean audit report during the board’s most recent meeting.
Chief Executive Officer Cathy Pimple says clean audit reports need a lot of thorough analysis by hospital staff.
Pimple also says the Medicare Cost Report for last year ended with nearly $900,000 in receivables, meaning net income was over $1 million. Pimple says that’s the best cost report in hospital history, thanks to increasing patient volume and decreasing labor costs.
Separately, board members approved a $225,000 IS Network infrastructure update. Pimple says it’s part of ongoing efforts to ensure security for electronic medical records and comes ahead of separate investments for telehealth and other remote services.
The meeting also served as an update for Lyon County commissioners as part of a joint meeting, specifically with the American Hospital Association’s Cost of Caring report so commissioners are up to date on trends and concerns facing healthcare in general, especially in rural settings. The report indicates “significant financial headwinds” for hospitals and health systems, notably with increased workforce costs, ongoing underpayments by Medicare and Medicaid, potential cuts to both programs and tariff impact on medical imports.
