Newman Regional Health has announced a lot of milestones and major initiatives over the past decade, but Wednesday’s board meeting divulged an impressive accomplishment.
During Wednesday’s monthly meeting, Chief Financial Officer Holly French noted December’s net revenue was over $262,000, favorable to budget by almost $70,00 and above December 2022 by over $2.4 million. That total helped the year-end net income, which finished at almost $242,000 — above a budget net loss of $415,000 and the December 2022 mark by over $4.3 million.
The numbers may not be impressive — until you consider it has been 2015 since the hospital finished a year in the black without any special funding from the federal government. CEO Cathy Pimple:
Newman Regional Health finished in the black in 2020 and 2021, largely because of a $10 million boost through federal COVID-19 operating funds. Those funds have since been repaid as mandated.
In other business Wednesday, the Board of Trustees approved the purchase of chemistry analyzers at a cost of $280,000. As part of the consent agenda, where several items can be addressed with one vote, the board approved several plans, including documents for infection control, legal compliance, quality assessment and performance, utilization and patient safety.
Wednesday’s meeting also comes as background conversations continue between Newman Regional Health and Stormont-Vail Health with the plan of starting facilitated conversations at some point, perhaps as soon as April. The hospitals have agreed to an external presence at upcoming meetings as Stormont-Vail plans a better than $30 million medical facility in Emporia. Newman Regional Health responded by submitting several potential zoning code text changes for approval by the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission and Emporia City Commission, all designed to add extra layers of local oversight for outside medical entities while protecting the hospital’s financial interests to a degree. The Planning Commission moved Newman Regional’s proposal to the City Commission without any recommendation on how to proceed. City commissioners likely won’t take action until the mediation process is finished.