December 6, 2012 I The Lovell Chronicle I 19
Hospital finances get clean bill of health
BY PATTI CARPENTER "We're lucky as a criti- : : tient settings and this is port that the hospital is still
John Hawk of Eide cal access hospital that we .... : reflected in the numbers," seeking to fill positions for a
Bailly presented North Big
Horn Hospital District's
audit report at the regu-
lar meeting of the board of
trustees held on Nov. 13 at
the hospital. Overall, Hawk
gave the hospital a positive
report, stating that the hos-
pital's statements were ac-
curate and prepared accord-
ing to government-required
standards. He also noted
that he saw no compliance
issues or material weak-
nesses in the accounting
records. He said profitabil-
ity appeared to be up, re-
turn on assets up, as well as
overall growth. Compared
to the average for similar
facilities in Wyoming the
debt ratio was lower than
average and the cash flow
liability was the highest in
five years.
In a separate meeting,
the hospital's Chief Finan-
cial Officer Richard Goertz
reviewed the statement in
greater detail for the fiscal
year beginning July 1, 2011
through June 30, 2012. Go-
ertz replaced Daphne Hart-
man as CFO when she re-
tired in June.
Goertz said that he
thought the hospital is "do-
ing fine." Goertz explained
that the hospital is non-
profit in the sense that prof-
its, if any, don't go back to
shareholders but instead go
into equipment purchases
and other improvements to
the facility.
are still being paid cost of
charges instead of like larg-
er hospitals who get paid
a flat amount based on di-
agnosis," said Goertz. "We
still don't get paid for every-
thing, but it's closer to what
we need to stay open."
Goertz noted that this
payment system, which is
based on a percentage, is
designed to keep critical ac-
cess hospitals alive in small
communities.
Goertz said that the
gross revenue for the district
increased by 8 percent over
the previous year, while ex-
penses only increased 3 per-
cent. This relatively small
profit combined with a mill
levy, grant and tax reve-
nue allowed the district to
finish in the black with a
$678,786 operating income
at the end of the fiscal year
compared to the previous
year where the district had
a loss of $267,626.
Goertz said the mill
levy really helped keep the
hospital afloat this year.
"As a hospital, we're
trying to hold our expenses
down and to keep the qual-
ity of our services up," said
Goertz. "We don't give out
bonuses or anything like
that when we come out a
little bit ahead. We use ev-
erything we have to keep a
quality hospital here for the
community."
Both acute and swing
bed days dropped during
PA'IWI CARPENTER
Newly elected board member Mary Matthews and
re-elected board member Chad Lindsay were sworn
in at a special meeting. Re-elected board member
Don Minchow was sworn in by phone.
the year. The number of
acute bed days decreased
from 867 days in the year
2011 to 542 days in 2012.
The number of swing bed
days dropped from 1334
days in 2011 to 1238 in
2012. Outpatient visits in-
creased. Goertz said this re-
flects an overall trend in the
health care industry toward
more outpatient care.
One marked improve-
ment he noted was that the
district did a better job of
collecting money owed to
the hospital. The number of
days a bill remained on the
accounts receivable list de-
creased from 63.48 days to
59.10.
Patient doctor visits
were down but lab and X-
ray procedures were up in
part due to the Hometown
Healthy Living program
implemented earlier in the
year that allowed patients
to order blood tests direct-
ly and in part due to new
equipment in the X-ray de-
partment like the new CT
scan. Visits were up in the
occupational and physical
therapy department.
"Health care is moving
more in the direction of do-
ing more things in outpa-
said Goetz. "There are a
lot of positives to having a
hospital with these services
.................... here in town. It saves peo-
::: ple from havingto go all the
...... way to Billings or Cody for
these services."
Goertz said the New
Horizons Care Center is
doing well. The center has
been averaging between
76-78 patients for most
of the year. Although the
number of patients was
down slightly from 2011,
where the average num-
ber of patients per day was
76 compared to 75 in 2012.
The nine available assisted
living rooms were occupied
fairly consistently through-
out the year, with an aver-
age occupancy of around
seven per day.
An upgrade of records
under the "meaningful use"
program brought in an addi-
tional $117,000 of revenue,
while improving patient re-
cords access by authorized
personnel dramatically.
Also at the board meet-
ing, retiring board member
Ruth Ann Holzer was pre-
sented with a plaque honor-
ing her service on the board.
CEO Rick Schroeder
said a new ice machine was
installed at the care center
and the old machines were
donated to the Cowley base-
ball field and the Deaver
Fire Department.
Barb Shumway noted
in her human resources re-
new Physician, Physician's
Assistant, EMT, CNA/E1-
der Assistant, RN/LPN and
Clinic LPN.
A strong candidate
for the physician position
has expressed interest,
and negotiations are in
progress.
Shumway noted the
district's staff turnover
rate in October was 1 per-
cent. Employees were of-
fered a 10-week nutrition
class and the district is
continuing to provide CNA
training in four-hour blocks
each month among other
programs.
The board also dis-
cussed the need for a new
copy machine and listened
to a presentation by Scott
Murphey regarding the
need to purchase a new
ambulance. Murphey en-
couraged the board to au-
thorize the purchase by
the end of the year because
prices are expected to go up
dramatically. He also rec-
ommended that the hospi-
tal purchase a box that can
be transferred to newer ve-
hicles as a way to save con-
siderable money on pur-
chases in the future.
Newly elected board
member Mary Matthews
was introduced and a sched-
ule for her orientation was
discussed.
There will be no board
meeting in the month of
December.
Announcements
Announcements
Announcements
Real Estate
Announcements
Real Estate
New Home Purchase
Refinance • New Construction
Rural Development Loans
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runninghorserealty.com
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BUYER, SELLER AND
ENERGY HOME inspec-
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307-202-0262 or www.
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(22TFCT)
TO BUY, SELL OR RENT,
call Heart Mountain Realty
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CHECK OUT OUR LIST-
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Motorcycles
2001 KAWASAKI
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Asking $4,000 o.b.o. Call
307-851-5264.
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TRAPPER TRAVEL
& TOURS Holiday
Open House. Greybull
Chamber, 521 Greybull
Avenue, Greybull. Sat-
urday, December 8, 2
- 4 p.m. Refreshments,
drawings. New 2013
travel opportunitiesl
(12/06B)
CHRISTMAS IS FOR
REALI Fellowship Fun-
draiser. Friday, Dec. 14,
5:30-8 p.m. Greybull
Presbyterian Church,
433 1st Ave. South
(Across from Town Hall)
Soup, Bread and Des-
sert dinner (by donation)
Silent Auction, carol-
singing and fun chal-
lenges.
(12/06cB)
BREASTFEEDING SUP-
PORT - Every Thursday
at noon at Planet Kids.
Led by Certified Lactation
Counselors - 754-1212.
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OUTFITTERS, TOUR
GUIDES AND Recre-
ational Vehicle Dealers:
Be part of the Northern
Plains Outdoor Expo. Feb.
8-10, Rushmore Plaza
Civic Center, Rapid City.
www.NpoutdoorExpt.com.
Jim Glines-605-390-9001.
(97-97W)
USE YOUR FUTURE
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Cody or Worland and
use your future refund
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NOW! Guaranteed credit
approvall www.midway-
autosales.com,
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PVHC DIABETES SUP-
PORT Group, for anyone
interested in Diabetes,
meets @ the Powell Hos-
pital the 2nd Monday of
most months. For more
information call the Hos-
pital @ 754-2267.
__ (09TFThursFT)
POWELL AL ANON
provides support for
friends and relatives of
alcoholics. Meetings:
Tuesdays at noon and
Wednesdays, 7:00 p.m.
at 146 South Bent (Big
Horn Enterprises/north
entrance off parking lot).
For information, call 754-
4543 or 754-5988.
__ (103TFThursFT)
NARCOTICS ANONY-
MOUS Meets at 146 S.
Bent, Powell (Big Horn
Enterprise building) Tue.
(open, book study), Thur.
(closed, for addicts only)
Sat. at 10 a.m. (closed)
and Sun. at 7 pm. Call or
text 254-5729.
__ (21TFThursFT)
CODY N.A. MEETINGS-
Mondays at 7 p.m., and
Thursdays at 7 p.m.
Assembly of God Church
basement, 1532 Bleistein
Ave.
__ (24ThursTFFT)
NARCOTICS ANONY-
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Monday evenings at 7
p.m. at the Big Horn Fed-
eral conference room.
__ (72ThursTFFT)
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