NRMC finance committee discusses 2015 finances

Nevada Daily Mail

The Nevada Regional Medical Center's finance committee met to discuss the medical center's financial performance as of Dec. 31, 2015.

Mike Harbor, the interim chief financial officer, lead the summary of financial performance portion of the meeting. Using spreadsheets, he told the committee December 2015 saw a strong bottom line of $200,000. The hospital had 5,061 out patient visits compared to Dec. 2014's 4,968 visits. The month of December 2015 had 2,339 clinic visits, 246 more than a year ago.

According to Harbor document, "Inpatient volumes were a mixed bag ... We had a sharp drop in census at Christmas, but by New Year's [Eve] we had a relatively full house."

The total operating expenses for the month, according to the document, were $724,553 more than its net income. With non-operating revenues of $70,256, the month of December 2015 had a net loss in operating income of $654,298. The first six months of the fiscal year, September 1 through Dec. 31, 2015, saw a loss of $598,146. December, alone, was profitable, with a net income of $199,839, Harbor said.

Harbor said after the meeting, the board had budgeted for a loss in the first half and was optimistic for the second half of the fiscal year.

Harbor told the committee the medical center's productivity and efficiency showed favorable numbers in December. He said the salaries' percentage of net revenues showed improvement.

"The productivity percentage year-to-date is 95 percent, which is close to NRMC's target of at least 96 percent," Harbor's summary of financial performance said.

Harbor continued to speak optimistically when he told the finance committee that NRMC might be able to get the budget to break even. With his "Service Line Breakeven Analysis" comparing Jan. 1, 2015, though Sept. 20, 2015, he told the committee after seeing 42 patients in the intensive care unit, in order to break even with the budget they would need to see seven more ICU patients in the next three months. Harbor also analyzed the hospital had a volume of 259 patients in the obstetrics/delivery/nursing room, and an additional 185 patients would help them break even on the budget. Medical and surgery saw a volume of 502 patients to reach the total variable margin, and an additional 31 patients would lead to NRMC breaking even.

Larry Bledsoe, board of directors' secretary, said these numbers were realistic. After the meeting, Harbor said he thinks all of the numbers are reachable in three months.

In other business the finance committee:

* Voted unanimously to approve the replacement of a side-by-side vaccine/med refrigerator. The current refrigerator storage combines meds, vaccines, and chemotherapy. Due to new regulation, the medical center must separate the chemotherapy drugs. The cost of the fridge is $3,089 and was not budgeted.

* Voted unanimously to replace five computers at a cost of $3,285 to be used throughout the facility. There are a lot of computers at the end of their lives, said Marci Hardin, the help desk coordinator at NRMC. The hospital has $63,625 in its budget for replacement of technology.

* Voted unanimously to renew the hospital's membership in The Missouri Hospital Association. Its cost was budgeted at $32,402.

* Voted unanimously to spend up to $5,000 for an Endo Stratus CO2 Insufflator. This machine will inflate the bowel during endoscopies. The device uses CO2 which is "easily absorbed by the body for enhanced patient comfort," the approval items summary document said.