PORT ANGELES — Low patient volumes at Olympic Medical Center contributed to a net loss of $654,000 for the first six months of the year, Chief Financial Officer Julie Rukstad told commissioners Wednesday.
OMC has cut some costs.
The public hospital district spent $3.2 million less on the operating side than a budgeted $70 million from January through the end of June.
Meanwhile, operating revenue was $5.1 million less than the budgeted $70.7 million.
“I do think we are flexing labor better based on volume,” hospital Chief Executive Officer Eric Lewis said.
Last month, OMC implemented a twice-per-month furlough day for about 190 nonunion employees and managers.
Nurses and other health care workers already were adjusting their schedules to meet patient volumes.
“We’ve experienced some really low volumes, and we have a high fixed-cost business,” Lewis said.
“We’re open 24/7, and we have to be available and ready.”
Adjusted patient days, which include inpatient and outpatient visits, were 9 percent below last year’s tally at the end of the second quarter.
There were 25,032 adjusted patient days in the first half of 2012 compared with 27,364 in the first half of 2011.
“Because of the decrease in volumes, we have operating revenues at $32.8 million for the quarter, which is 7 percent less than our budget,” Rukstad said.
“Most of it is coming from our inpatient revenue, which is $2.5 million less than our budget on our gross revenues.”
Profit margin
OMC had a minus-1.2 percent margin for the second quarter, the third-consecutive negative quarter. The year-to-date margin was minus-1.0 percent as of July 1.
Hospital officials have said they need to maintain a 3 percent margin — the profit that a nonprofit makes to pay debt and invest in capital — to survive over the long term.
OMC approved a financial stability plan in February that cut $5.5 million in 2012 spending, including a one-year delay in the long-awaited expansion of the emergency room.
The plan did not include cuts to patient services, outsourcing or layoffs.
“Given that our volumes are down 81/2 percent, minus-1.0 [margin] is not a disastrous outcome,” Lewis said.
“It’s not a great outcome — we’re still working to make it better — but I think the third quarter will be better.”
With the poor economy and higher insurance deductible, more and more people are putting off their doctor’s visits, hospital officials have said.
Last year, OMC provided $9.4 million in uncompensated care.
Clallam County has about 10,000 uninsured residents.
Lewis told commissioners last month that hospitals throughout the Puget Sound region were experiencing lower volumes.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
