Samaritan loses less money in September, October than anticipated
MOSES LAKE — Samaritan Healthcare didn’t lose as much money as hospital officials anticipated in September and October.
Hospital officials had forecast a $2.7 million net income loss in September and a $1.6 million net income loss in October due to the adoption in September of a new electronic record-keeping system. However, Samaritan experienced a $255,279 net income loss in September, and $400,312 in October.
Chief Administrative Officer Alex Town reviewed the results for the first two months after the new system’s adoption during the Samaritan commission meeting Dec. 15. But, Samaritan was turning a profit for the year through the end of October, with $2.4 million in net income.
Town said it would take time for medical professionals and Samaritan staff to get used to the new system, and that affects productivity. And, the conversion to a new record-keeping system didn’t mean Samaritan could get rid of its old systems, Town said. The hospital will be required to keep, and pay for, the old systems for a while to be able to access information stored there.
Expenses increased in September and October, Town said. In part by the 20-40 hours required for training in the new records system. Replacements were required to fill in for people in training.
In addition, the hospital was required to hire temporary general surgeons to fill in after the departure of a surgeon, Town said, and retirements and resignations in the CRNA (certified registered nurse anesthetist) staff required hiring temporary staff in that department.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the hospital since March, and that continued in September and October. Town said inpatient medical and surgical admissions and obstetrics admissions were lower than projected in the 2020 budget for both months. Outpatient revenue and revenue from the Samaritan clinics also was below budget projections.
As of the end of October, Samaritan had about $6 million in bad debt and charity care expenses, he said.