Veterans Memorial Hospital bounces back with strong month of August

by Brianne Eilers

While the month of July brought the second biggest financial loss in the history of Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) in Waukon, things rebounded very well in August for VMH, which posted its second biggest revenue in the hospital’s history with a net income of $189,802 for the month, which translates to a year-to-date profit of $2,718.
“It has just been a big roller coaster, but everything turned around. September has been good, too, but probably not as good as August,” noted VMH administrator Mike Myers.
Myers also mentioned that VMH has noticed a decrease in outpatient physical therapy from this time last year, which the hospital speculates is due to the fact that insurance companies are requiring more and more procedures and therapy to be pre-authorized. VMH is looking into the possibility of having to hire someone to keep up with the amount of things that are required to be pre-authorized.
The number of days in accounts receivable has crept up to 89.4, which is on the high side, and partly due to issues with the hospital’s Medicare recertification and the paperwork involved with that. VMH is also working through process issues with the new electronic medical records system.
On a more positive note, the hospital has managed to again keep expenses under budget by 2.3%, which Myers noted is a tribute to the staff and keeping things in check. The amount in the hospital’s cash reserves is at $2,564,000, due to the fact that instead of leasing some equipment, the hospital has been paying cash for it.
The hospital is continuing to work on electronic medical records. The hospital has reached the stage where it will begin to attest for Medicare reimbursement for part of the cost of the program and computers, and the facility is working on the process of documentation that is submitted to Medicare. The hospital hopes to have it completed by the end of the year.
VMH continues to work on plans for its Birthing Center. Health insurance renewals came in below budget again. Myers noted that the hospital has also made some changes to that insurance plan to make it better without upping the cost. VMH dieticians continue to work with Quillin’s Food Ranch in Waukon on the Nu-Val scoring system. Myers said the hospital has noticed an increase in attendance in its healthy eating classes as well.
VMH is welcoming Matt Wagner as its new Quality Assurance person, who will be taking over for long-time employee Linda Kious, who resigned in order to pursue a teaching career. “We will miss Linda, but are excited to have Matt on the job,” Myers noted.
VMH participated in a tabletop county-wide disaster drill, along with county entities. Myers noted that there were new programs for long-term disasters that were tried out, as was the hospital’s new calling system. It was also a good way for all those involved to know what they might need to work on to enhance service in the future.