Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1169964
16 CFO / FINANCE Texas hospital abruptly closes By Ayla Ellison V an Zandt Regional Medical Center in Grand Saline, Texas, closed Aug. 5. The closure was announced Aug. 4 via a post on the medical center's Facebook page. Medicare cutbacks, dwindling reimbursement from insur- ance companies and a financial burden left by previous management were among the factors that forced the hospital to close, according to CBS19. Van Zandt Regional Medical Center was the only emergency services pro- vider in Van Zandt County, and a group of local physicians are trying to re- store those services. At the time of publication, management was in nego- tiations with a physician group that is interested in taking over the hospital, according to CBS19. n Texas hospital closes after 70 years By Ayla Ellison C hillicothe (Texas) Hospital closed July 22 after years of declining pa- tient volumes, according to KFDX-TV. The decrease in volume is attributable to patients traveling to other hos- pitals for care, Chillicothe Hospital interim CEO William Barnes told KFDX-TV. "Very few admissions come here anymore. We have too much competi- tion, two neighboring cities that patients can go to," he said. The critical access hospital, which opened in 1949, has also experienced decreasing reimbursements and scaled back services over the years. Chillicothe Hospital is one of several rural hospitals in Texas to close in recent years. Twenty rural hospitals in the state have shut down since 2010, accord- ing to research from the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program. n Mayo Clinic's operating income jumps 88% in Q2 By Ayla Ellison R ochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic reported higher revenue and operating income in the second quarter of 2019 than in the same period a year earlier, according to unaudited financial documents. Mayo Clinic's revenue totaled $3.4 billion in the second quarter of 2019, up 9.6 percent from the second quarter of 2018. The health system said its second quarter revenue was up year over year in several markets, includ- ing Rochester, Arizona and Florida. The health system's operating expenses climbed 5.3 percent year over year. Labor expenses totaled $3.8 billion in the second quarter of 2019 and rep- resented more than 60 percent of the health system's operating expenses. Mayo Clinic ended the second quarter of this year with operating income of $300 million, up 88.7 percent from the same period a year earlier. Af- ter factoring in strong investment returns and other nonoperating income, Mayo Clinic reported net income of $493 million in the second quarter of this year. That's up from $181 million in the second quarter of 2018. n Kaiser's net income surges to $2B in Q2 By Kelly Gooch O akland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanen- te's revenue, operating income and net income for its nonprofit hospital and health plan units increased year over year in the second quarter of 2019. e healthcare giant reported operating revenue of $21.4 billion in the second quarter of this year, up 9.3 percent from $19.6 billion in the same pe- riod a year prior. Kaiser's health plan unit — as well as favorable accounting estimates compared to the second quarter of 2018 — contributed to the growth. Kaiser saw health plan membership increase from 12.2 million as of June 30, 2018, to 12.3 million as of June 30. As Kaiser's revenue grew, so did operating ex- penses. Expenses climbed from $19.3 billion in the second quarter of 2018 to $20.3 billion in the second quarter of 2019. With operating expenses accounted for, Kaiser reported operating income of $1.1 billion in the second quarter of 2019. at's up from $345 mil- lion in the first quarter of 2018. Kaiser's nonoperating income was $930 million in the second quarter of this year, up from $308 million in the same period a year prior. e boost was attributable to strong investment performance, along with an accounting change that took effect Jan. 1, the organization said. Under the accounting change, Kaiser reported unrealized gains on certain equities as net non- operating income, which added $223 million to the organization's nonoperating income and ex- penses in the second quarter of 2019. Kaiser ended the second quarter of 2019 with net income of $2 billion. at's up more than 213 percent from its net income of $653 million in the first quarter of last year. "Strong results are essential for us to deliver on our nonprofit mission to improve affordability while advancing our high-quality care and ser- vice for our members and customers. is also allows us to make strategic investments in tech- nology, people and care facilities," said Kaiser Executive Vice President and CFO Kathy Lan- caster. "At the same time, it's critical we remain fiscally vigilant in today's increasingly compet- itive environment with growing industry and financial pressures." n