Slow start to fiscal year, but Veterans Memorial Hospital continues to compare favorably with other facilities

by Brianne Eilers

The month of July brought a dismal start to the new fiscal year for Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH). Acute patient days volume was down slightly, 1.5% from last year-to-date. Skilled patient days were down 27.2%. Other areas that were also down in volume were total surgeries, down 38.7%; outpatient radiology, down 16.6%; cardiac rehab was down 50.0% and emergency room (ER) visits were down 4.3%. With these areas being down in volume, patient revenue was down about $200,000 and VMH showed a loss of $50,122 for the month of July.
There were a few bright spots, though, with deliveries being up 37.5% from last year, outpatient physical therapy up 45.7% and outpatient MRI up 38.9%. “Not how we want to start the year,” VMH Administrator Mike Myers noted, further stating that expenses also tracked with the revenue being down and that the hospital staff did well watching expenses.
VMH has $2,906,000 in cash reserves and days of revenue in accounts receivable is at 60.0. “Which is the lowest they have been in years,” commented Myers. Myers did note that we was not optimistic about the financial outcome for the month of August.
In other matters, the tentative start date for the remodeling project on the nurses’ station at the hospital is September 10, and the project is slated to last about three weeks. VMH is also working with architects to get the final details worked out on the project for remodeling and updating. They will also be updating furnishings in the emergency department as well as painting.
On the patient safety side, Myers noted that VMH has not had an inpatient fall in 193 days, and there hasn’t been any significant skin break-out since 2005. Staff at VMH is also re-evaluating medication errors that are made and making improvements in reducing those types of errors. Dr. Ross will be starting September 10, and Dr. Perry is back helping in the ER and clinic. Privileges were given to Dr. Steven Davis, M.D., who is a general surgeon, as well as to Dr. Hamid Kakavandi, D.O., who is also a general surgeon.
VMH has also been looking at outpatient statistics with areas that had the biggest changes from June 30, 2010 to June 30, 2012, as well as comparing them to June 30, 2008. Looking at the changes from 2008, ER visits were up 14%, cardiac stress tests were up 158%, nuclear scans were up 475%, sleep studies were up 189% and total outpatient services are up 16%. “This shows how the providers are supporting us,” noted Myers.
Data was also presented from the Iowa Hospital Association databank, comparing VMH with 59 other critical access hospitals in the Midwest that are similar in size to VMH, from July 2011 to June 2012. VMH’s swingbed days increased 20%, while others dropped six percent. VMH’s acute days tracked with other hospitals, all dropping five percent. Deliveries at VMH increased 19%, while other hospitals increased by just one percent. VMH incurred $752,000 in depreciation and interest expense, while the other hospitals averaged $1,700,000 in those expenses.
“We don’t have much debt,” Myers said. VMH had a 4.7% profit margin before taxes, while others averaged just .6%. VMH received no tax revenues while their peers average $918,000 in tax subsidies. “I think these statistics show that we are good stewards of money,” Myers said, adding, “and the excellent job that our providers do in supporting us and keeping care local and the patients supporting us by using this facility.”
VMH also compared itself to other Iowa hospitals, and Myers noted that VMH continues to be one of the “smaller revenue hospitals in the state, but very unique in that the deliveries and things like that that we do are consistent with ‘larger’ small hospitals in the state." When comparing the numbers, Myers also pointed out that the main reason some hospitals were ahead of VMH is due to the fact that those hospitals get tax support.