Memorial Hospital of Carbon County is taking several proactive steps to assist with financial viability and endurance amid increasingly challenging dynamics present in today’s healthcare environment.
Thirty percent (approximately 600) of all rural hospitals in the US are at risk of closure. Only two Wyoming hospitals are currently operating with a positive margin.
Workforce shortages, including physicians and nurses, rising costs of contract labor, supplies, professional fees, and other expenses are key factors impacting healthcare. In addition, commercial payers are slow to pay and reimbursement levels have not kept pace with increasing costs. Understanding some of the dynamics behind the challenges hospitals are facing is important in determining appropriate next steps as well as educating the public.
“We are diligently working to address the challenges we are facing. It is critical that we look at every area of operations to secure our position as a trusted healthcare resource for Carbon County and the hundreds of individuals we serve every year traveling Interstate 80. We are seeing exceptional growth in many of our service lines and our patient census is stronger than we have seen in years. The dedication of the staff at MHCC and the level of quality care is inspiring and provides much reason for optimism.” Rod Waeckerlin, Board of Trustees Chair
The following objectives are being utilized and/or implemented by Memorial Hospital of Carbon County to ensure the needs of community members are met both today and for years to come:
- Actively utilize benchmarking tools to gauge performance and make real-time adjustments accordingly
- Reevaluate all existing service lines for financial feasibility
- Evaluate clinic efficiencies and provider stability
- Explore additional growth opportunities through thorough pro-forma evaluations
- Utilize labor productivity metrics
- Continued focus on reducing outstanding accounts receivables and improved revenue cycle structure
- Continued focus on maintaining superior patient satisfaction scores
- Appropriate expense reduction organization wide
Effective May 20th, 2024, Memorial Hospital of Carbon County initiated an RFP (Request for Proposal) to seek bids for a management and/or consulting firm. Currently, the organization partners with Ovation Health Care for consulting services. Contracted services with Ovation expire December 2024. “The RFP process is a cornerstone in the overall business plan of MHCC. It provides a healthy, competitive structure to yield the best value for the organization. By entering this process, we are seeking proposals from multiple vendors to ensure that we are receiving competitive pricing as well as contracting with a vendor that specializes in rural healthcare and the unique characteristics of small hospitals.” Stephanie Hinkle, Director of Strategic Operations
Additional information about the RFP can be found at www.imhcc.com under the “News Section” of the homepage.