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Boyd discussing strategic planning for Mammoth Hospital |
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Friday, 28 August 2009 |
Billing system undergoing restructuring
By Erick Sugimura
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
 Mammoth Hospital CEO Gary Boyd speaks to the Mammoth Lakes Noon Rotary Club
According to Boyd, the strategic plan is being shaped by management, staff, physicians and the community.
“In a couple months, we’ll know what the plan will be,” Boyd said.
Mammoth Hospital’s primary service area, comprised of Mammoth Lakes, Lee Vining, June Lake and Bridgeport, made up 55.3 percent of their admissions in the fiscal year ending in June of 2008. The communities of Bishop, Big Pine and Lone Pine comprise the hospital’s secondary service area and totaled 13.7 percent of their admissions that year.
The remaining 32.5 percent of hospital admissions came from beyond these areas, meaning that the hospital is similarly dependent on tourism as the rest of the town, Boyd said.
Mammoth Hospital is a CAH (Critical Access Hospital – a Medicare designation meaning that it has 25 beds or less, is more than 25 miles from the next nearest hospital and the removal of such a hospital would have a serious impact on the community) and has a 70 percent market share. Most rural CAHs have between 20 to 40 percent of the market share.
Boyd credited Mammoth Hospital’s high percentage to his staff of talented physicians and nurses, and also to the equipment and facilities here.
“Most [CAHs] are just small hospitals,” Boyd said. “We’re kind of a little Mayo clinic in the mountains. We really have a special place.”
For example, Mammoth Hospital has an urologist, obstetricians, orthopedic surgeons and a state of the art facility with electronic imaging. Many CAHs provide for only basic medical needs.
Mammoth’s geographic isolation from any competition also contributes to its high market share.
“From a business perspective, we’ve had a pretty good summer,” Boyd said, clarifying that no one wants to see hurt or injured people and he was speaking strictly from a financial aspect.
Mammoth Hospital turned in a profit for the last fiscal year ending on June 30, 2009. Boyd noted that about 50 percent of the hospitals in the country lose money every year, so “we’re in the 51st percentile, but we’re shooting for 75.”
Boyd was asked about the numerous “This is not a bill” statements sent out by the hospital’s billing department.
“The billing department has been our Achilles heel,” he acknowledged.
Recently, the hospital changed all the key people in the billing department, outsourced all the older bills and focused its staff on bills 90 days and younger.
Any change to an invoice triggers a “This is not a bill” notice, but Boyd said that they’re working on reducing the number of bills people receive.
Also, the first bill will have an itemized list on the backside of the page to show patients exactly went into making the total bill – something that has been lacking in the past.
Another recent improvement at the hospital involves the sharing of medical records and files through their information technology department.
“We just went live with Clinical Suites last week,” Boyd said of the electronic nurse charting software for the Operating Room and Recovery Room. In-Patient charts will be electronic this October, followed by Pharmacy in November and the Lab in December. The Clinics and Emergency Room are planned to come on sometime next year.
Boyd also commented that he, personally, would be interested in selling two properties in Bishop that are owned by the hospital and focusing on the hospitals interest in the Church Parcel.
“Regardless of what you may hear, the hospital’s doing fine,” Boyd concluded.
Hospital board votes
to sell Bishop parcel
At the Mammoth Hospital board meeting on Aug. 27, the board voted to approve the sale of one of its properties in Bishop and lease office space for the hospital employees who currently work at that location.
However, there has been no formal discussion by the board as to the hospitals interest in the Church parcel at this time.
The other parcel owned by the hospital in Bishop was put on the market several months ago, but no offers have been made to date. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 04 September 2009 )
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