Samaritan posts operating loss for first two months of 2026

MOSES LAKE — Samaritan Healthcare posted net revenue losses in January and February, and while hospital officials anticipated some red ink, the losses were larger than the budget projections. Samaritan posted an operating loss of about $1.4 million in February and about $486,500 in January.  

Chief Administrative Officer Alex Town said inpatient and outpatient revenue was lower than projected in January and February, and lower than the same period in 2025. Inpatients stay in the hospital overnight or longer; outpatients are treated in one visit and go home. 

“That goes in cycles, so we do expect some surge in the coming months,” Town said.  

The 2026 budget forecast an operating loss of about $177,500 for the first two months of the year. Interim Chief Financial Officer Darryl Wolfe said losses were expected, even if they’re larger than projected.  

“While that's not the result you wanted, it's not 5 million, it's not 10 million. We budgeted a loss, and it was a little bit more than we had hoped for,” he said.  

Finances can show a lot of volatility from month to month, he said.  

“Fluctuations like this are regular,” Wolfe said. “There’s a lot that goes into driving those numbers. There’s seasonality, there’s how sick are your patients – there are a lot of moving parts behind it.” 

Revenue for the Patton and Pioneer Way clinics was about the same as budget projections, Wolfe said. Bad debt and charity care expenses were lower than projected. 

While revenues were lower, so were expenses – and that too, Wolfe said, was to be expected. 

“If your revenue is down, you should be below on your expenses. There are a lot of variable costs in health care – there are a lot of fixed costs too, but there's a lot of variable costs. The busier you are, the more people you need to take care of patients. Similarly, if you're not as busy, you know, you schedule down in some cases,” he said. 

Hospital operations moved to the new facility on Yonezawa Boulevard on March 6. Whether it’s a residence, a business or a hospital, moving is time-consuming and expensive, and Wolfe said some of those expenses were incurred in February.  

“We knew we’d have some temporary manpower for sure, but that’s a number that will go down. They will continue to drop in that category,” he said.  

Temporary manpower expenses rose substantially in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, as hospitals nationwide experienced shortages in nurses, doctors and other medical professionals. Town said those expenses are decreasing and should continue to decrease.