January finances did not develop as budgeted at Newman Regional Health.
At the monthly Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday, the hospital reported a net loss of over $630,000, which was unfavorable to budget by almost $220,000. Patient traffic was lower than expected in numerous categories — acute care, nursery, rehab, skilled patient care and observation — causing reductions in ancillary services like lab, imaging, pharmacy and cardiovascular procedures. Revenue for surgical, cardiology, primary care and obstetrics clinics was also below expectations.
Chief Executive Officer Cathy Pimple says the January numbers do not reflect a longer trend.
Acute care admissions for January were 95, short of expectations by 36 and below January 2025 by 39 patients. Other admissions categories were much closer to budget and/or year-to-year comparisons. Nursery admissions, 28, were 3 less than budget and 13 less than January 2025. Skilled stay, rehab stay and ExpressCare admissions were either level or almost level when compared to budget, while emergency room visits were up slightly in the budget comparison.
Pimple says context is important whenever finances are discussed.
Budgetary conversations also included a wrap-up of 2025 year-end net income, and Pimple says those were stronger than initially listed in January after a review by Chief Financial Officer Holly French..
January operating expenses were favorable to budget by over $113,000, due to staffing
