VMH reports slight decrease in patient volumes for November

by Brianne Eilers
 
The Veterans Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees met early this month (due to the holiday schedule) for a brief meeting December 17.
During the month of November, Veterans Memorial Hospital experienced slightly lower acute patient days, which were down 10.3%, and as a result, inpatient revenue came in lower than what was budgeted for by about $150,000, or 10.2%. Outpatient physical therapy numbers were down for the month by 13.5%. The hospital ended up with a net loss of $1,736 for the month. However, year to date, the hospital has a net income of $320,486, which translates to a 4.6% profit margin. The hospital also has $1,816,000 in cash reserves, which is down.
VMH Administrator Mike Myers explained that the decrease in that amount is due to the fact that the hospital’s days in accounts receivable has gone up to 108.3. “We had an issue with Medicare and some pre-authorization issues that have been resolved, so we anticipate that once the cash is coming back in, we’ll get those things turned around in the upcoming months,” Myers said.
Meyers also provided statistics on patient and service volumes so far this year. Year-to-date, VMH has had a total of 17,926 outpatients and a total of 3,454 during November 2014 - a total of 47,643 outpatient services, and 9,542 during November. The hospital saw 281 emergency room visits in November, with a year-to-date total of 1,602. There were 37 surgeries performed at the hospital during November, and 192 year-to-date. Cardiac rehab had 110 patients in November, and year-to-date that number is 425. November also had a total inpatient services number of 2,737, with a year-to-date total of 16,207.