Signs of Financial Upturn

Bradford Regional Medical Center (BRMC) officials focused on several bright spots on the horizon in reports given at the annual meeting of the Board of Directors, held during Tuesday's Bradford Hospital Foundation Community Relations Committee meeting.

The event was held at The Bradford Club, featuring presentations by several hospital officials and special guest Timothy J. Finan, President/CEO of Olean General Hospital (OGH).

Recently, BRMC and OGH officials announced plans to integrate to create a healthcare system to meet the needs of 150,000 patients across northwest Pennsylvania and southwest New York state.

At the annual meeting, BRMC President/CEO George Leonhardt reported on the latest steps to bring the year-long plan to completion, noting that organizational meetings and time frames are currently being set by a Steering Committee and that employees are assisting with the task of assembling necessary information during this "due diligence" and planning process to meet regulatory requirements.

"We're just at the beginning of one of our most intensive planning efforts, with the promise of the greatest potential for a positive outcome in our 120-year history," Mr. Leonhardt said following the meeting.

"Growth of shared services, building a stronger employment platform, greater potential for the best use of our economic resources – these are all intentions of integration," Mr. Leonhardt said.

Mr. Finan, who was attending his first BRMC annual meeting, echoed Mr. Leonhardt's enthusiasm for the plan. "Given all the challenges of operating hospitals in today's environment, collaboration represents the best opportunity to ensure ongoing viability," he said, adding that both CEOs recognized that the region "desperately needs quality healthcare and needs the jobs."

Calling the integration plan "a great opportunity to preserve healthcare for the community," Mr. Finan noted, "all of us in Olean look forward to partnering with Bradford, to learning from you and sharing with you."

At Tuesday's meeting, Mr. Leonhardt announced a "new growth opportunity" for the Medical Center, the establishment of Allegheny Vein & Vascular, a new Center of Excellence under the direction of Robert Tahara, M.D.

Mr. Leonhardt also expressed pride in each of the hospital's other four Centers of Excellence -- behavioral health, cancer care, cardiology and surgical services.

He noted, "We feel strongly in the potential we believe these areas hold for our future success in meeting the needs of our region."

During the meeting, Mr. Leonhardt also unveiled the hospital's new mission statement, "Caring for our community through the journey of life."

The Board of Directors this past year, he explained, adopted a new mission/vision/values statement following several months of work by employees representing numerous hospital departments.

"It exemplifies an ideal you'll see everyone work to achieve with each visit you make to our facility," Mr. Leonhardt said.

Other presentations were given during the meeting by BRMC Vice President of Human Resources Dennis Geitner, who reported on a workplace initiative to benchmark and manage labor costs; Physician/Professional Recruiter Nellie Wallace, who provided a report on new physicians during the past year; and Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services Deborah Price, who updated the audience on the Emergency Department Expansion Project.

Annual reports and upcoming plans were also given by Vonda Reese, Vice President, Bradford Hospital Auxiliary. Mrs. Reese announced that planning is under way for the organization's 2009 major fundraiser, "Touching Hearts, Changing Lives," partnering with the Aktion Club, on Feb. 7, 2009, at Grace Lutheran Church Community Life Center. Further information will be available through the media. Proceeds will benefit BRMC.

Sandra McKinley, Chairman of Bradford Hospital Foundation, reported on the "Building The Future" capital campaign. After three years into a five-year "Building the Future" capital campaign, "Our $6 million goal is now at $5.1 million and growing," Mrs. McKinley said. During fiscal year 2007-08, "We have raised $1.3 million toward our goal."

Through continued support from the community and the hospital family, "We are still going strong and will reach our goal," Mrs. McKinley pledged.

This week, BRMC officials plan to release an online version of their annual report, available at www.brmc.com.

In its financial report, the Medical Center cites a reduction in losses by $1.3 million over the previous year. While officials reported a $1.7 million loss in the 2006-2007 fiscal year, the 2007-2008 figures reflected a $371,00 loss.
"We're moving in the right direction," said BRMC CFO James Tarasovitch. Among the contributing factors for the optimism, he noted, was a decrease in expenditures such as savings in goods and services through renegotiated contracts and savings in interest expense.

"We've made great strides over the previous year," Mr. Tarasovitch said. "We're doing a great job of getting closer to breaking even, even though we're facing the same obstacles in Bradford that the rest of the country is facing."

Among those, he explained, is the stock market volatility. For BRMC, it’s meant a decrease in investment income by $400,000 this year, with slight declines in donations. As reported in previous years, shortfalls created by Medicare and Medicaid payments also continue to impact the Medical Center's budget, continuing the pressure to create other ways to fund the needs.

Nationally, Medicare and Medicaid payments to U.S. hospitals last year fell over $31 billion short of the cost of care provided to hospital patients insured by those programs, according to a national hospital survey.

"We have high (Medicare and Medicaid) populations for this region," Mr. Tarasovitch said, citing a rising pressure to raise revenue through other avenues such as private insurers, the community and government programs.

A bright spot on the horizon, however, is the "potential of the integration with Olean General," he noted. "It's exactly what these two communities need, to grow together and strengthen our bottom lines."

(Photo of Leonhardt and Finan courtesy of BRMC)