Photo courtesy: Morehead Memorial Hospitalīut this arrangement didn’t come with an infusion of cash from Novant, said Barnhardt. Under Morehead’s management agreement with Novant Health, CEO Dana Weston leads the hospital, but is paid by Novant. Morehead is one of many hospitals in the state that’s hired an outside management organization to run things, in this case, Charlotte-based Novant has been providing leadership at the hospital for a few years. The rest of Morehead’s patients last year were uninsured, Barnhardt said. Both of those programs pay less than commercial insurance, the kind that usually comes with having a job, and only a quarter of the patients had that type of insurance. He also noted that because of the poverty of surrounding communities, rural hospitals are likely to have more government payers.Ĥ9 percent of Morehead’s patients were on Medicare, the program that pays for seniors and some people with disabilities and Medicaid patients made up another 16 percent of patients. “A number of factors facing rural hospitals are outside their control, population trends, with rural communities tending to have more older people, competition in the direction in how health care is delivered,” Holmes said. Holmes tracks rural hospital closures across the country and noted that hospitals in states stretching from Virginia to Texas have struggled more, and tended to be less profitable. “Rural hospitals across the country are facing, in general, financial pressure,” said Mark Holmes, who heads the Sheps Center for Health Policy Research at UNC Chapel Hill and is an economist who focuses on rural health care. The past few years have not been kind to rural hospitals in North Carolina: In 2013, Blowing Rock Hospital converted to a rehabilitation facility, in 2014, it was 49-bed Pungo Hospital at the opposite end of the state that shuttered, and the following year, Yadkin Valley Community Hospital was abruptly closed by the management company running the facility and Franklin Hospital in Louisburg ceased operations. “For a patient coming to the hospital and the staff working here, they really shouldn’t notice a change,” she said. She said the hospital had hired New York strategic consulting firm Hammond, Hamlin and Camp to work with them with the ultimate goal of creating a partnership. In the 2014 fiscal year, Morehead broke even, but last year, Barnhardt reported the hospital had $74 million in revenue, and $6 million more than that in expenses, which would have swamped any remaining fund balance.īut Barnhardt remained upbeat. In the 2013 fiscal year, the hospital had $100 million in revenue but still lost about $5 million, drawing on a $9 million fund balance to pay outstanding bills. I’ve looked down at the comments from staff and they feel good about the hospital taking this step.”Īccording to IRS filings, the hospital has been either breaking even or losing money for several years. “They’ve been so positive and I was just going through some Facebook posts,” Barnhardt said, “and a lot of people have shared the articles that have been in the print publications. The 102-bed Morehead Memorial Hospital, located in the Rockingham County community of Eden, made the announcement Tuesday, informing staff at a morning meeting before releasing announcements to the public.Īccording to hospital spokeswoman Myla Barnhardt, the 700 or so members of the staff took the news well, in particular, because leaders told staffers that no layoffs were planned.Ĭhapter 11 bankruptcy gives organizations time to reorganize, unlike other kinds of procedures that compel organizations to liquidate assets to pay off creditors. debate the fate of President Barack Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act, a hospital in rural North Carolina filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. could learn from them.Įven as lawmakers in Washington, D.C. Lessons from Abroad: How Europeans have tackled opioid addiction and what the U.S.Storm stories – NC Health News works with teens from SE North Carolina to tell their hurricane experiences.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |