Erlanger Health System posted a $197,950 loss from operations in May, compared to a $2.5 million loss the same month last year, Chief Financial Officer Britt Tabor said Monday night.
Erlanger’s loss from operations after 11 months of the fiscal year stands at $9.8 million.
At this time last year, the loss was $15.2 million.
“I’m disappointed we are not reporting a profit tonight, but we have shown steady improvement in our monthly financials in the last two months,” Mr. Tabor said.
He stated, “Erlanger experienced $2.5 million and $4.9 million losses in operations in February and March of this year.”
He said, with one month left in the fiscal year, Erlanger has provided $69.6 million in uncompensated care to the community. He stated, “In May alone, we contributed more than $6.3 million in uncompensated care - far more than any other healthcare institution in this region.”
Erlanger admissions in May were 2.7 percent under budget, but were almost five percent higher than last May.
Surgical inpatients were 13. percent under budget in May, though the surgical mix was up – at 30.7 percent - for the month. Surgical outpatients were 5.7 percent under budget in May.
Emergency room visits were 5.1 percent under budget, but 12.2 percent greater than last May.
Physician practice outpatient visits were five percent under budget.
Cath lab procedures were 6.6 percent over budget. Mr. Tabor said there has been a renewed focus on building Erlanger’s cardiology service line.
Supplies and drugs per adjusted admission was $1,363 compared to a budgeted $1,550. Mr. Tabor commended the staff for keeping these expenses down for the second month in a row.
Neurosurgery inpatient surgeries were almost two percent over budget and 9.6 percent greater than the prior year. Last month inpatient neurosurgeries were up by 17 percent.
Bad debt and charity care as a percentage of gross patient revenue was 11.20 percent compared to a budgeted 10.57 percent, which also contributed to May’s financial loss, in addition to commercial pay utilization, which was down 6.9 percent. “If we’d had a better payor mix, we would definitely have had a better month,” Mr. Tabor said.
Mr. Tabor said NICU patient days were 20.4 percent under budget in May. “This had a significant impact on our bottom line,” he told the board of trustees finance committee.