Samaritan Healthcare projected to finish 2025 with carryover

MOSES LAKE — Samaritan Healthcare is expected to spend a lot of money on its new hospital in 2025, enough that its operating income will show a loss for the year, according to the budget approved by Samaritan commissioners late last year. However, there’s projected to be enough non-operating income to cover the loss and leave Samaritan in the black by the end of 2025.

The hospital’s 2025 budget projects an operating income loss of about $15.1 million, but a non-operating income gain of about $23.2 million. As a result, Samaritan should end 2025 with a net income gain of about $8.1 million.

Spending for the new hospital was projected at about $86.15 million in 2025. 

Additional physicians and surgeons were hired in 2024, which is projected to help increase the number of both inpatient and outpatient surgeries. Samaritan Chief Administrative Officer Alex Town said that’s a reflection both of more doctors and more people moving into the hospital district. 

Town said surgery is one of the departments where income is higher than expenses.

“It is the number one revenue-generating department in every hospital,” Town said. “I have yet to find a hospital where surgery isn’t number one. A crucial indication of this – remember when all (hospital) elective procedures were placed on hold? All hospital financials went in the toilet.” 

Washington officials ordered elective surgeries to be deferred on multiple occasions during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Central Washington in general is growing, he said, which means more demand for medical treatment of all kinds, from laboratory testing to surgery to diagnostic imaging. Demand has risen to the point where medical facilities throughout the region have extended wait times.

“Samaritan has been very nimble in being able to get to our patients quicker, so I feel that’s helped us grow in our demand,” he said. 

Demand for both laboratory and diagnostic imaging services are projected to increase in 2025. 

Emergency room visits also are projected to increase, with about 1,200 additional visits when compared with the estimated use in 2024. The number of ER visits in 2024 was more than the budget projection.

Town said increased ER use is a reflection of more people in the area, but there’s more to it than that.

“The other part, I would say, is the lack of access to care,” he said. “Due to the difficulty of getting in to see a primary care physician, I’m willing to bet a lot of patients use the ER and the walk-in clinics as their (primary care provider).” 

Revenue is projected to increase by 34% at Samaritan’s two clinics, one on Patton Boulevard, the other on Pioneer Way. Part of that, Town said, is the increase in the number of physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners working at the two facilities. 

It’s also due in part to patient utilization increasing at the Patton Boulevard clinic as patients get used to using it.

“Talking to (the Patton Clinic staff), they still get comments like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know you were here,’” Town said. “The other part, they’re recognizing that there are a lot of patients from Ephrata.”

More patients will require more staff; the 2025 budget anticipates the equivalent of 726 employees. Town said that’s due to more physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners being hired, more services being offered and temporary employees being replaced with permanent staff.

As the hospital and clinics get more use, expenses will go up too. Temporary manpower expenses are projected to decrease as more permanent employees are hired. Salaries and benefits are projected to increase.

Supply expenses are projected to increase about 13% in 2025, due to more business, but also due to inflation. The cost of most hospital operations is projected to go up, from utilities to repairs and maintenance to telemedicine. 

Bad debt and charity care expenses are projected at about $11 million, about 26% above the 2024 estimate of $8.75 million. That too is partly about more people and therefore more patients, but it’s also affected by changes in Washington law.

“Washington state is getting more and more generous in expanding the bandwidth of which patients qualify for financial assistance,” Town said.