Now that trustees have overseen the construction of a new hospital, comes the business of managing it. And it’s not always a bed of roses.
Trustees grappled with troubling numbers and frustrated employees at their meeting Monday night.
“No one has the money to buy everything for everyone,” said Ron Baker, chief executive officer of Allen County Regional Hospital.
“That’s certainly more true today than ever. We’re getting hammered by Medicaid and cuts by the federal government,” he said, referring to the state’s refusal to expand Medicaid guidelines that would have boosted payments to treat the indigent and those with disabilities.
That hit to the hospital’s bottom line comes to roost primarily in the inability to expand services as desired.
One issue is the effort to recruit a surgeon.
“We came close,” Baker said of a potential candidate who opted to remain in Kansas City, even though for less pay.
“We offered $350,000, but that didn’t attract,” Baker said.
Several factors played in the candidate’s decision, but the overriding was the expectation that he would be available 24/7.
Baker also questioned if the patient demand for a full-time surgeon exists and “perhaps we need to look at a different model,” of service.
It’s not uncommon for small hospitals to share resources. “We may have to reach out to those we had been competing with,” he said.
A more tenable model may be to share surgeons from hospitals in the region to staff the hospital five days a week on a non-emergency, 40-hour a week basis.
In his experience managing small hospitals in the southwest part of the state, Baker said it was typical for hospitals to “stabilize and ship,” patients who need more specialized care provided in metropolitan facilities.
Baker said the most likely hospitals to partner with are in Burlington and Fort Scott. Baker said Coffey County’s hospital had approached him about sharing the services of an orthopedic surgeon.
MARY WARREN, a registered nurse who works in the outpatient oncology department and the wound clinic, told trustees she was concerned about the morale among nurses.
