NRMC reports profit in May

Nevada Daily Mail

With the end of the fiscal year Tuesday, the finance committee of the Nevada Regional Medical Center board of directors discussed the May financials as well as the estimated bottom line for the year's budget during their monthly meeting Monday.

After the previous fiscal year, which saw a loss of $8 million, the finance committee was told Monday when they will likely end the year with a loss of less than $1 million, a huge improvement that committee members contributed to the efforts of the entire staff.

"We've tied up a good year," chief executive officer Kevin Leeper said. "Thanks for everybody's hard work."

Part of the reason for that improvement seen in May is $1 million the Center for Medicare Services will reimburse to NRMC after an investigation CMS conducted showed it owed the hospital because of the higher than expected volumes it had in the 2015 fiscal year, surpassing the flat amount they had been giving to NRMC every two weeks.

"That was a pleasant surprise," said interim chief financial officer Mike Harbor, who called in for the meeting because he was not able to be there in person.

The board said the hospital would conduct its own investigation to be sure its data matches the results CMS ended up with to make sure the hospital will receive that entire amount and will not have to pay some of it back to CMS upon an audit. The CMS investigation only covered the first three quarters of the year, however, so it is possible there could be more reimbursements in the future.

While patient volume was down across the board during the month of May, those numbers were still higher than were seen in previous years. Due to a total of almost $500,000 in unbudgeted finances granted to NRMC in May, the hospital remained in the black for the second month in a row.

NRMC ended the month of May with a profit of $63,098. The year-to-date budget shows a loss of more than $1.5 million, but will change after the June totals are calculated.

Harbor reported a difference of about 68 percent when comparing the present budget to the previous year's totals, when they had lost almost $5 million through May.

"All those numbers have improved quite a bit from where we were," Harbor said.

Through May, NRMC has almost 50 days of cash on hand, 40 bond days cash on hand and 54 net days in accounts receivable. All are expected to improve with the June totals.

The long-term care facilities of NRMC have also contributed to the improved financial state of the hospital. Administrative officer Steve Branstetter reported that the Barone and Moore-Few care centers once again had a monthly profit, ending May with a gain of $49,752. For the year, they are at a net gain of $402,416 on a budget of $217,924.

Barone also hit 40 in their census numbers in June; the Alzheimer's care center was full for the first time in two years. Barone currently has a waiting list as a result. More-Few also had a high census at 83 in May on a budget of 74, with a record-high Medicare census between the centers.

"Things are good," Branstetter said, summing up the budget.