Nashville (Tenn.) General Hospital at Meharry needs $7.5 million to pay outstanding bills, less than two months after it was granted an emergency $10 million, according to The Tennessean.
Nashville General CEO Joseph Webb, DSc, requested the infusion of funds for the hospital at a budget hearing Tuesday. He said the $7.5 million would help the hospital reduce the number of days it takes to pay vendors from 80 to 90 days to 30 to 40 days.
"We like to say that we're slow-pay," said Dr. Webb. "We're not a no-pay, so the vendors have become fairly aggressive in looking for a shorter time for their payment."
The $7.5 million supplement — like emergency funds issued to the hospital in February — would be in addition to a $35 million requested subsidy for the hospital's 2016-17 budget.
In February, Dr. Webb requested and was granted $10 million in emergency funds for the hospital. Of those funds, $2.4 million will go toward addressing deficiencies identified by the Joint Commission, and the remaining funds will be used for strategic initiatives, accelerated account payments and to help the hospital handle a projected $1.4 million budget shortfall.
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