Hospital should promote healthy living, CEO says

MOSES LAKE - While providing care will remain Samaritan Healthcare's first priority, hospital officials will discuss ways to get the hospital more involved in promoting healthy living in the hospital district.

The subject came up as part of a discussion of the hospital's vision and mission statements during the Oct. 24 board of directors meeting. Samaritan administrator Tom Thompson said hospital officials are reviewing those statements, and in his opinion the role of a hospital in its community is changing. In his opinion, he said, quality of care and outcomes will become increasingly important.

Thompson said he thinks everyone at the hospital, administrators and employees alike, needs to expand their frame of reference. In his opinion that means a bigger effort by the hospital to address the unmet health needs in the community, he said.

That effort will center on providing quality care at the hospital, and by local health care providers, he said, but it should include promoting a healthy community also. It will mean talking about health issues that might not happen at the hospital, like mental health and senior citizen care, he said.

Samaritan should be more visible throughout the hospital district, and should be working to promote a healthier community. He asked hospital board members where they thought that effort should go. Board member Alan White said the hospital is already doing a little of that, partnering with the Moses Lake School District on some projects. board members said they support other opportunities.

Thompson said hospital officials want to have some guidelines in place by December.

In other business, chief financial officer Tom Legal reported that while gross revenue is slightly below budget targets, operating revenue is slightly above targets.

The hospital has generated $104 million in gross revenue for the year through the end of September, Legel said, which is about one percent below the budget target. But operating revenue (what's left after expenses) is $40.6 million, which is about 2.7 percent above the budget target for the same period, he said.

That reflects a decrease in contractual allowances (the difference between what the hospital charges and what it gets paid), Legel said, which is a sign of a more favorable payer mix.

Patient days (the total number of days patients spend in the hospital) are increasing, Legel said. Outpatient, surgery and laboratory services also went up during September, he said. Samaritan clinics also increased, partly because the hospital added Parkview Pediatrics, he said.

Board member Julie Weisenberg reported the board is working on a survey to determine the community's perception of the hospital. The last survey of that kind was 2008, she said.