Erlanger Health System officials said Monday night that the upcoming budget meets hospital quality and patient care needs despite a recent letter of "no confidence" from Erlanger's Medical Executive Committee.
Henry Hoss, who heads the board's finance committee, asked specifically about an assertion concerning over-crowding and inadequate care at Erlanger's emergency room. He noted that the letter made a comparison with Vanderbilt Hospital's one hospital personnel to every three patients in its ER.
Erlanger officials said in some cases in the ER in especially serious cases there is a 1-1 ratio. They said it may be 1-2 or, in less serious cases, 1-5. They said Erlanger does scale back ER admissions when it is seen that there are an overwhelming number of patients.
Dr. Amar Singh said there is a significant different between a hospital like Vanderbilt and a critical care facility like Erlanger. He said, "I struggle all the time getting patients in there."
CEO Kevin Spiegel said the budget "exceeds all the standards that we feel are appropriate."
Britt Tabor, finance director, said Erlanger is having a renewed push on "throughput" - limiting hospital stays to free up beds for others.One official said the emphasis at one time was on in-patient, but now the pressure if for "out-patient."
The budget projects a $5 million profit for the fiscal year starting July 1.
Capital spending is at $36.18 million.
There is $3 million in the budget for employee raises.
The spending also includes $7 million for upgrades to the expensive EPIC electronic medical records system. Other money will go toward upgrading elevators and fixing chillers and roofs.
Erlanger is expecting a 4.4 percent increase in admissions, pushing it above 43,000 patients.
Uncompensated care is projected to rise from $131 million to $135 million at the county hospital that dates to 1891.