WHIDBEY NEWS-TIMES: Hospital officials lay out financial improvements

Jessie Stensland reports from the Mar. 17 Public Hospital District board of commissioners meeting:

A change in the way levy revenues are distributed and new revenue opportunities will keep WhidbeyHealth afloat, officials said during a hospital board meeting Thursday.

They Said It

“I believe there’s a lot of hope that we can not only survive but we can thrive,” [Interim CEO Michael Layfield] said. “That’s my gut feeling coming in.”

Layfield also said some changes may be difficult in the public hospital district. He explained officials are looking at profit and loss statements in every department. He warned that some departments and services may have to be suspended, though he said the hospital will prioritize cutting medical services that are available elsewhere on the island or nearby areas “whenever possible.”

“If we have to suspend some services, it will be painful,” he said. “There will be pain, but it’s what we have to do.”

[Island County] Treasurer Wanda Grone agreed to distribute levy tax revenues on a more immediate basis… Grone explained that she agreed to make a one-time exception for the hospital to help it get through the financial crisis. Normally levy revenues are distributed on a monthly basis, she said, but she agreed to do it on a weekly basis for a few months. Most of the money comes in April 15-20, she said.

Board President Ron Wallin said [while discussing the hospital district’s problems of delayed billings] a firm the hospital contracted with to handle accounts receivable hasn’t worked out.

Commissioner Nancy Fey said the board was frustrated in the past with not being able to accomplish things, but that has changed for the better. “We’re getting an education on what we really should have been doing but weren’t getting the right data,” she said.