Becker's Hospital Review

14 CFO / FINANCE Anonymous donor pays tuition for entire inaugural class of Houston med school By Alia Paavola A n anonymous donor, who gied $3 million, will fully fund tuition for the entire inaugural class of medical students at the University of Houston College of Medicine, the university announced July 18. e first class of medical students, set to begin school in fall 2020, will have their tuition fully covered for all four years. ere will be 30 students in the class. "Student debt is the No. 1 deterrent for students when applying to medical school," said Renu Khator, PhD, president of the University of Houston. "is generous gi will allow such students an opportunity to attend and ultimately lead the future medical workforce." e UH College of Medicine will begin accepting applications next year. Texas ranks No. 47 out of 50 states in primary care physician-to-popu- lation ratio. e college of medicine will focus on fighting this physician shortage by aiming for "at least 50 percent of each graduating class to spe- cialize in primary care," according to a university news release. n Mississippi hospital shuts down ER, unable to pay employees By Ayla Ellison E mployees of North Oak Regional Medical Center in Senatobia, Miss., had not been paid in more than two weeks as of July 26, according to WREG. About 150 employees were unable to cash the checks they received from the hospital July 20. The bank told the em- ployees there was no money in the hospital's account. North Oak Regional Medical Center CEO Philip Hanna told WREG the hospital can't access the funds needed to pay employees. "The money is not the issue," he said. "We have the money in the account. It just needs to be transferred from Califor- nia to Mississippi." Mr. Hanna said new bank security measures prevented the hospital's out-of-state owner from transferring the funds. The hospital is dealing with the payment issues just a few weeks after shutting down its emergency room on July 12 due to financial challenges, according to the report. In early July, Mr. Hanna told WREG the hospital was losing about $100,000 a month. n Bon Secours' operating income climbs 20% with boost from revenue cycle improvements By Ayla Ellison M arriottsville, Md.-based Bon Secours Health Sys- tem reported higher revenue and operating in- come in the first nine months of fiscal year 2018 than in the same period of the year prior. Bon Secours said total operating revenue was up 1.1 per- cent in the first nine months of fiscal year 2018 compared to the same period of fiscal 2017. After factoring in ex- penses, Bon Secours ended the nine-month period with operating income of $69.5 million, up from $58 million in the same period of fiscal 2017. The system's financial gains were fueled by growth in patient volumes, including a 4.3 percent increase in out- patient visits. The health system said improvements in revenue cycle, such as managed care rate increases, also boosted its financial performance. Bon Secours ended the first nine months of fiscal year 2018 with a 2.8 percent operating margin, compared to a 2.3 percent operating margin in the first nine months of fiscal 2017. n Atrium Health bumps pay for 9,000 nurses By Kelly Gooch C harlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health said 9,000 nurses across the system will receive raises at the same time as a regional mini- mum wage increase to $12.50. e nurse wage increases will range from 50 cents to $1 per hour, de- pending on the worker's role, and represent an overall $5.6 million in- vestment by Atrium Health. ey took effect July 22, the same day the regional minimum wage increase did. Atrium Health first announced it would increase the minimum wage for employees on June 28, affecting more than 75,000 team members. e minimum wage increase and the nurse wage increases together represent a $7.7 million investment by the system in more than 16,500 employees, according to hospital officials. "Recruiting and retaining the best nurses in this region is vital to Atri- um Health's ability to provide the best care for our patients," Maureen Swick, PhD, MSN, RN, senior vice president and system nurse execu- tive for Atrium Health, said in a prepared statement. "Competitive pay is one of many important factors that nurses consider when choosing where they work." Atrium Health has more than 35,000 employees in the Charlotte area. n

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