NEWBERRY — The number of births recorded at Newberry County Memorial Hospital for April and May were down — 17 and 13, respectively — but June rebounded nicely with 28 births, CEO Bruce Baldwin told the Newberry County Memorial Hospital board.
The final total was 298 for the fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30 of each year, compared to last year’s 322 births.
During his CEO report, Baldwin said they have met with many physicians and were trying to evaluate what has changed and what they could do to increase volumes.
The average daily census was 8.8 percent under budget at 22.7 for June. Year to date, the average daily census of 21.8 is 3.3 percent below last year’s 22.5. Total acute inpatient discharges for the month were at 146, which is 8.1 percent higher than the 135 budgeted. Year to date, inpatient discharges are 1,845 which is 3.9 percent below last year’s 1,920.
For June, emergency room visits averaged 58 per day which is 2.5 below last year’s 59.5 per day. Inpatient surgery cases were 9.2 percent above budget for the month and 3.6 percent above budget year to date. Outpatient surgery cases were 22.5 percent above budget for the month and 14.6 percent above budget year to date.
The hospital saw some shifts in payor-mix, according to the CFO report. When comparing the fiscal year 2015 to fiscal year 2014 traditional Medicare decreased from 35.2 percent to 33.9 percent. Medicare HMO’s increased from 9.9 percent to 11.8 percent and Medicaid increased from 16.4 percent to 16.7 percent. Self-pay also dropped from 12.2 percent to 10.8 percent.
Due to an increase in accounts receivable, a decrease in accounts payable and the purchase of fixed assets, cash flow at NCMH decreased by $6-7,030 for the month of June. The cash flow improvements of the past year have resulted in a $1,520,057 positive cash flow position year to date, the report stated with 211 days of cash on hand compared to last year’s 205.
In his CEO report, Baldwin announced that Meg Davis had accepted the title of Director of Quality effective July 1. In this role, Davis will have duties and responsibilities in Quality/Legal Compliance/Risk/Core Measures along with her duties on Medical Surgical Services.
Baldwin also announced that Randy Litzenberger had accepted the additional duties of overseeing the hospital’s Lean Program and their customer service program in addition to his directorship of the lab.
“I believe these changes will be very positive going forward,” Baldwin said in his report.
Other updates:
• Baldwin said the hospital continues to participate in network meetings with MyHealth First Network which has filed an application to become an accountable care health organization for Medicare beneficiaries in the Midlands area. In July, MyHealth First Network announced a new Blue Cross product that will be available for employers with less than 50 employees in our surrounding counties.
• The hospital key result report continues to show strong performance in the areas of inpatient and outpatient core measures. NCMH said they will continue to work with medical staff and other hospital staff to sustain great performance.
• The volunteer department at NCMH will host a jewelry sale Sept. 28-29. All proceeds will support the hospital.