Hospital seeing positive trends

Officials encouraged by reduced turnover, patient visits
 
While its March numbers fell short of February’s, Three Rivers Health reports positive trends in several indicators that are key to its future success, including patient visits, staff morale and turnover.
That was the theme that emerged from Wednesday night’s meeting of the board of directors, which began as they typically do, with a report from finance department manager Michael Garza.
Garza said an allowance adjustment of $498,000 for its Legacy system (Medworxw) cleanup contributed to a net operating loss of $349,000 in March.  TRH also saw declines in patient encounters, from 1,488 in February to 1,257 in March, and net patient revenue, from $740,000 in February to $624,000 in March.  Clinic visits fell from 656 in March to 537 in February.   On the plus side, inpatient and swing bed days rose from 19 to 37 and ER visits from 118 to 123.
While not minimizing the numbers, CEO Joel Jackson urged the board to keep them in proper perspective.  Patient volumes continue to grow, he said, citing 3,391 visits in the second quarter of 2023, 3,561 in the fourth quarter and 4,271 in the first quarter of this year.
“That’s significant growth,” he said. “We don’t expect it to continue indefinitely, but at least into the middle of next year.”  
Garza’s report also shed light on TRH’s improving financial position.  At a low point for THR in early 2023, it was down to about six days of cash on hand.  At the end of March, it had more than 53 days of cash on hand.
During that same time frame, TRH has been able to fund operations without drawing from its board designated account.  With more than $16,000 in revenue from the county flowing into it last month, it now tops $706,000. The goal is to not draw from it for the remainder of the fiscal year and TRH is considering putting some of the money in a CD.
Jackson said new telemetry equipment has been ordered to replace the equipment that failed in the spring of 2023. It’s expected to arrive in six to eight weeks. While the $100,000 price is steep, Jackson said it will allow TRH to keep an additional 12 to 16 patients per year.  Right now, they must be transported to a higher level of care. Jackson anticipates TRH recovering the expense in about 18 months.   TRH is also planning to purchase —possibly by as early as May — an analyzer for the lab. The estimated cost is $50,000.
Jackson wasn’t the only staffer who shared encouraging news with the board.
Tamara Sawyer, who handles human resources, compliance and risk for TRH, said the amount of staff turnover is down considerably from a year ago. Last month, there was zero turnover. For the first quarter of this year, it was 1.9%
Diane Heine, interim director of nursing, said TRH is down to one travelling nurse, an 80 percent decrease in usage over the past year.
And Dr. Christopher Robertson, the chief of staff, told the board that TRH is “on a good trajectory of building a strong culture within its provider group.”