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A sharp decline in inpatient volume was offset by significant growth in outpatient volume, giving Phelps County Regional Medical Center a 2011 that was “a little better than the industry,” said Ed Clayton, chief financial officer at the hospital.
Presenting his 2011 summary at the Finance Committee meeting Wednesday night, Clayton said the year was marked by “major swings in volume” that he described as “unpredictable.”
Admissions in 2011 were down by 1,545 patients for the year, a 17 percent drop.
Industry and state figures show other hospitals were down in admission numbers, too, but Clayton said he believes PCRMC’s drop was more significant.
The outpatient picture was much rosier.
“You couldn’t ask for a better year,” Clayton said of outpatient use of the hospital.
Outpatient use was up 13.1 percent, driven by outpatient surgeries that numbered 1,013. Also, contributing to the outpatient volume were oncology services, both radiation and medical.
Clayton said the overall volume was up 1.7 percent.
“Despite what happened in the industry, we feel fortunate,” he said.
Highlights of the year were $2.9 million in federal stimulus money (although that was partially offset by $1.4 million in reimbursements to the Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor program), medical imaging renovations and upgrades, purchase of the Physicians Surgery Center, continued growth of both the PCRMC and Bond physicians groups and the $16 million bond reissue to save money.
“It was a flat year for investments,” Clayton continued, noting the hospital received $375,000 in non-operating income from its portfolio.
Total operating margin for the year was 2.3 percent; the budgeted figure was 2.6 percent.
“We had a reduction in total debt of $6.4 million,” Clayton said. The hospital’s debt-to-equity ratio dropped from 35.5 percent to 29.3 percent.
Cash plus investments, minus debt, grew from $34.6 million to $38.8 million, Clayton said.
In other discussion:
• Clayton said continued refinancing of the 2003 bond issue, this one amounting to $13 million, is moving ahead with the Piper Jaffray firm administering it. The reissue will likely be wrapped up by the end of March with a significant savings for the hospital.
• The fieldwork for the audit will take place for three weeks in March, Clayton said.
• The December financial report was approved as written for recommendation to the full board by the Finance Committee. Clayton did not go over the report in the meeting; no copy was made available for public perusal.
Following the adjournment of the Finance Committee meeting, the full Board of Trustees opened its monthly meeting.
A sharp decline in inpatient volume was offset by significant growth in outpatient volume, giving Phelps County Regional Medical Center a 2011 that was “a little better than the industry,” said Ed Clayton, chief financial officer at the hospital.
Presenting his 2011 summary at the Finance Committee meeting Wednesday night, Clayton said the year was marked by “major swings in volume” that he described as “unpredictable.”
Admissions in 2011 were down by 1,545 patients for the year, a 17 percent drop.
Industry and state figures show other hospitals were down in admission numbers, too, but Clayton said he believes PCRMC’s drop was more significant.
The outpatient picture was much rosier.
“You couldn’t ask for a better year,” Clayton said of outpatient use of the hospital.
Outpatient use was up 13.1 percent, driven by outpatient surgeries that numbered 1,013. Also, contributing to the outpatient volume were oncology services, both radiation and medical.
Clayton said the overall volume was up 1.7 percent.
“Despite what happened in the industry, we feel fortunate,” he said.
Highlights of the year were $2.9 million in federal stimulus money (although that was partially offset by $1.4 million in reimbursements to the Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor program), medical imaging renovations and upgrades, purchase of the Physicians Surgery Center, continued growth of both the PCRMC and Bond physicians groups and the $16 million bond reissue to save money.
“It was a flat year for investments,” Clayton continued, noting the hospital received $375,000 in non-operating income from its portfolio.
Total operating margin for the year was 2.3 percent; the budgeted figure was 2.6 percent.
“We had a reduction in total debt of $6.4 million,” Clayton said. The hospital’s debt-to-equity ratio dropped from 35.5 percent to 29.3 percent.
Cash plus investments, minus debt, grew from $34.6 million to $38.8 million, Clayton said.
In other discussion:
• Clayton said continued refinancing of the 2003 bond issue, this one amounting to $13 million, is moving ahead with the Piper Jaffray firm administering it. The reissue will likely be wrapped up by the end of March with a significant savings for the hospital.
• The fieldwork for the audit will take place for three weeks in March, Clayton said.
• The December financial report was approved as written for recommendation to the full board by the Finance Committee. Clayton did not go over the report in the meeting; no copy was made available for public perusal.
Following the adjournment of the Finance Committee meeting, the full Board of Trustees opened its monthly meeting.
Linde Morrow, administrative director for clinical quality and measurement reported at the board meeting in the monthly Integrated Quality Assessment Committee Summary that the wait in the Emergency Department to see a physician was 30 minutes.
Morrow also reported the hospital is continuing its quarterly luncheons with representatives of nursing homes and residential care centers, “post-acute care facilities.”
The trustees approved the December financial report and the chief of staff report.
In a review of the personnel committee meeting of Jan. 24, Chief Executive Officer John Denbo noted the end-of-year turnover rate of 11.6 percent was the lowest in recent memory. There are no nursing vacancies, an usual occurrence for PCRMC.
Workers’ compensation claims for 2011 were down significantly, Denbo said, with only two lost-time cases.
Denbo noted that a suggestion by Trustee JoAnn Brand-Hoertel that a total cost-of-benefits summary be provided for each employee is being followed. Frank Lazzaro, director of human resources, is working with an outside vendor to provide a computer program that will generate that information.
In his motion to accept the personnel committee report, Trustee John Park added that the board would issue a statement of gratitude to the employees for making the hospital a safe workplace.
Lorrie Hartley, executive director of the Phelps Regional Health Care Foundation, reported on the foundation board’s recent retreat.
Hartley stressed the need for all PCRMC employees and physicians to create a culture of philanthropy, to advocate for the hospital, to be willing to ask for gifts and to be good stewards.
This will make the foundation a “philanthropic engine for the hospital,” Hartley said, noting the hospital was founded with philanthropy in 1947.
