Hospital highlights - Hosptial year ends in the black

The hospital faced several financial challenges in 2010 but ended the year in positive financial territory. Thanks to many cost-cutting measures implemented by our managers and staff members, the hospital had retained earnings of $300,000 for the year. The hospital had charges of $30.2 million and collected net revenues of $22.3 million. Expenses totaled $22 million for a razor-thin operating margin of 1 perccent. A total of $11.2 million of the expenses go to payroll, making the hospital a significant economic engine for our region.

There are many reasons the hospital had such a small operating margin. The biggest reason is the economic downturn which affected how much health care people purchased. As people lost jobs they sought less care. Even those who did not lose their jobs or insurance seemed to cut back out of fear of what might happen. Many persons’ insurance deductibles and co-pays escalated which also drove behavior.

It is critical to the hospital’s future to have money left over after all bills are paid. This is how we fund replacement equipment, train staff and invest in the future.

The entire staff is helping improve our finances for the future. Each department has compiled lists of cost-cutting and revenue generating ideas. We are now evaluating and prioritizing those suggestions. We are also embarking on a process improvement strategy to ensure everything we do adds value to the customer; if something doesn’t add value we will design it out of our systems. Our intent is to use the tremendous brain power of our entire staff to ensure your hospital is financially strong.

David E. Womack, CEO

Whitman Hospital & Medical Center