Becker's Hospital Review

14 CFO / FINANCE New York hospital to close in June By Alexis Kayser Eastern Niagara Hospital in Lockport, N.Y., is set to close June 17 after years of financial turbulence. An ambulatory center operated by the hospital will close the same day, but will reopen immediately under Buffalo, N.Y.-based Catholic Health's management, ABC affiliate WKBW reported March 17. In November 2019, the hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and signed a management agreement with Catholic Health. The health system has been planning to close Eastern Niagara Hospital once its new Lockport Memorial Hospital opens in the same city; it named Maralyn Militello, BSN, RN, Eastern Niagara's final CEO. The closure will affect 337 employees, according to a WARN notice filed March 16 — 280 employees from the primary hospital, and 57 employees from the ambulatory center. n 1st hospitals line up for new rural hospital designation By Andrew Cass T he first hospitals seeking CMS' new rural emergency hospital designation have submitted their applications, Kaiser Health News reported March 6. Hospitals that convert receive a 5 percent increase in Medicare payments as well an average annual facility fee payment of about $3.2 million, according to the report. In return, the hospitals must close their inpatient beds and focus solely on outpatient and emergency care. e hospitals showing immediate interest have three or fewer patients staying overnight at any given time and have typically given up maternity care long ago to save on expenses, according to the report. One hospital in the Stillwater (Okla.) Medical system — an outpost in Perry, Okla. — has already applied for the designation, according to the report. Another in Blackwell, Okla., will likely do the same. Stillwater Medical Chief Administrative Officer Steven Taylor said the switch makes sense for the two hospitals that have struggled financially, according to the report. He said the most important thing for the small communities where the hospitals are located is to keep emergency services. Guadalupe County Hospital in Santa Rosa, N.M., is another that has already applied for the designation, according to the report. Despite the help of a tax levy, the hospital has lost more than $1 million in the past six months. "For years, we've been anticipating kind of our own demise, praying that a program would come along and make us sustainable," Guadalupe County Hospital Administrator Christina Campos told the outlet. A two-bed facility in Crosbyton, Texas, recently became the first in the state to get approval for the new designation. John Henderson, president and chief executive of the Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals, told the outlet that several more of the state's 158 rural hospitals have applied, are applying or are considering the conversion. n Hospital margins see no relief to start the year By Molly Gamble T he beginning of 2023 is off to an unfriendly start for hospital finances, with a median margin of -1 percent for January, wors- ening from the margin recorded a month prior, according to Kaufman Hall. e finding comes from Kaufman Hall's latest "National Flash Hospital Report" — based on data from more than 900 hospitals. e -1 percent margin captured in January arrives on the heels of 2022 being the worst financial year for hospitals and health systems since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals recorded decreased patient volumes, emergency department visits, discharges and total revenues in January 2023 compared to the month prior while expenses ticked upward. Month-over-month, total net operating revenue decreased by 3 percent while total expenses rose by 1 percent, with total labor expenses increasing by 3 percent. Another contributing factor to the negative median margin is the ordinary trend of hospitals making purchases for the year in January, Kaufman Hall analysts noted. "While we have seen a stabilization in operating margins over the past several months, the trendline continues to show that hospitals will be in a tough spot financially for the foreseeable future," Erik Swanson, senior vice president of data and analytics with Kaufman Hall, said. "With future COVID surges possible and challenging financial months ahead for hospitals, managing cash on hand will be critical to weathering the storm." n

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