Bradley County Medical Center continues to face financial challenges, but hospital officials say recent trends are encouraging as the facility works to improve collections, increase patient utilization and expand services available locally.
The Bradley County Medical Center Board of Directors received the update during its regular monthly meeting Thursday, Aug. 27.
The hospital recorded approximately $3.5 million in gross patient revenue during the month, with net operating revenue of $1.8 million. BCMC reported a monthly loss of approximately $197,000 while adding $112,000 to its sales tax fund.
CEO Leslie Huitt said the hospital has seen gradual improvement in its operating loss during each of the past four months, with increased utilization of swing bed and senior care services contributing to the improvement.
“Swing bed days are up, senior care days are up,” Huitt said. “Those are both areas where we had our Marketing Director, Tiffany, really gearing marketing toward.”
Huitt said the hospital is “trending in the right direction” but will need to maintain the progress.
“If you look at the last four months, there has been a little bit of improvement each month, so we’re trending in the right direction if we can maintain that,” she said.
Cash flow remains an ongoing concern, particularly during July, when the hospital faces three payroll periods and annual building insurance expenses.
Huitt said annualized expenses and gross revenue are currently on budget, but net patient revenue remains below expectations because of collection issues.
The hospital has narrowed its search for a revenue cycle management company to one vendor and expects to move forward following legal review of the service agreement. The company is expected to begin providing end-to-end revenue cycle services Nov. 1.
The services will include registration training and support, coding, billing, denial management, payment posting and private-pay collections.
The company also will provide technology capable of identifying insurance coverage when patients do not have insurance information readily available.
Huitt said the technology could help identify patients who may have insurance coverage but are unaware of it or who report being uninsured despite having available coverage.
The company also will work with registration staff to identify and correct problems that result in claim denials, with the goal of preventing those issues from recurring.
Huitt also recognized emergency department nurse practitioner B.J. Kidwell, who has been with BCMC for less than two months.
She said Kidwell has received positive feedback from patients and employees and has already been nominated for employee of the month.
The hospital also has implemented changes to its cafeteria, eliminating the traditional serving line earlier this week.
Employees and community members can now order breakfast, lunch and dinner through an online link or QR code. Available options include patient meals, hamburger baskets and chicken baskets. Information about the ordering system is available on BCMC’s Facebook page.
Huitt said the new system is expected to save the hospital approximately $3,700 per week.
The hospital also plans to install a cooler accessible to employees, patients and visitors 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The cooler will offer drinks, sandwiches, wraps, salads, soups, breakfast sandwiches, parfaits and fruit cups prepared by cafeteria staff.
The approximately $12,900 cooler was included among the sales tax expenditures approved by the board.
Huitt also updated the board on the replacement of the hospital’s X-ray equipment after the existing system required attention sooner than expected.
Huitt apologized to the board for the replacement being handled before the monthly meeting but said the equipment had already been included in the hospital’s capital budget. Repairing the existing equipment would have cost approximately $15,000, she said, making replacement the more practical option.
Installation of the new equipment is scheduled to begin Sept. 21. Portable equipment is being used for X-rays until the new system is installed.
The board approved several capital expenditures, including an emergency department stretcher for $5,208.18, a surgical sterilization monitoring incubator for $1,701.83, a FortiGate security firewall for the hospital’s information technology system for $6,942.15, CT injector repairs totaling $8,354.96 and a laboratory refrigerator for $6,576.28.
Huitt said the laboratory refrigerator had already been replaced after the previous unit failed, but the invoice was received only recently. The CT injector repairs were necessary to allow the hospital to perform CT angiography procedures requiring a pressure injector.
Hospital officials also discussed potential changes to Arkansas’ Medicaid expansion program and upcoming work requirements.
Huitt said the federal government has denied Arkansas’ Medicaid expansion plan and that the state has requested additional time to submit a new proposal.
She said BCMC will need to closely monitor the situation because changes could result in some patients losing Medicaid coverage and becoming self-pay patients.
The hospital also plans to look for ways to better identify patients who may qualify for Medicaid and assist them with the application process.
Huitt said BCMC sees patients who may be eligible for Medicaid but are not currently covered, including families in which some children have coverage while others do not.
COO Leeanna Williams reported that BCMC has received approval to begin performing prostate MRIs locally, adding another diagnostic service for area residents.
Williams said advances in MRI technology have eliminated the need for an internal probe that was previously required for some prostate MRI procedures.
Hospital staff have completed testing and received the necessary approval to begin providing the service. Marketing efforts are expected to begin soon, including outreach to local urologists.
Williams also said BCMC continues to expand its outreach efforts throughout the community.
Hospital representatives are scheduled to visit the YMCA on Sept. 3 and the Hampton Senior Citizens Center on Sept. 10 to provide information about cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation services.
BCMC also will host “Pink in the Park” on Oct. 3 as part of its breast cancer awareness efforts. The event will feature speakers, children’s activities and a walk, and participants will have an opportunity to schedule mammograms.
The hospital’s annual tailgate event is planned for October, along with additional outreach at local football games in Warren, Hermitage and Woodlawn.
Hospital officials said the events are designed not only to provide health services and information but also to increase awareness of the care available locally.
Through a partnership with the American Heart Association, BCMC is expected to receive approximately 60 blood pressure cuffs that can be distributed to patients through the Rural Health Clinic.
The board also approved three annual policies before entering executive session.
The next Bradley County Medical Center Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 24, at 12:30 p.m.
