In May 2011, South Cameron (La.) Memorial Hospital was in crisis mode. The 25-bed rural hospital, located deep in the bayou of Louisiana, was millions of dollars in debt, had no cash on hand and was moments away from having to shut its doors.
The district that controls South Cameron Memorial called in David Byrns and James Stanger of Frontier Hospitals to an emergency board meeting to see if they could help the struggling facility. Mr. Byrns serves as CEO and Mr. Stanger is COO of Frontier, a Deerfield Beach, Fla.-based hospital management company.
The two men, who have worked for various-sized hospitals over their 20-plus-year careers, agreed to take on the operations of South Cameron Memorial and immediately got to work. Within the first six weeks, they eliminated $3 million of the hospital's $3.8 million of debt. Hospital employees used to field 20 to 30 calls every day from creditors, but that is a thing of the past. South Cameron Memorial has been debt-free since October 2011.
"Those two can help in the turnaround of any facility," says Charles Getwood, administrator of South Cameron Memorial and its accompanying behavioral health facility. "They saved our two hospitals two years ago."
"We've seen so many of these small-town hospitals or sole community hospitals, where they are the only hospital in their county or parish, and we see other people come in and rob them blind," Mr. Stanger says. "We deal with salt-of-the-Earth people who just want to keep healthcare in their county."
Under the Frontier mission, Mr. Byrns and Mr. Stanger manage, lease or buy hospitals. They say they would rather lease only the operations of the hospital so the community can still own the "bricks and sticks."
"We still want the community to have skin in the game," Mr. Byrns says. "We own everything but the building. As owners of the hospital, the community still has something to fall back on should anything happen. We still want them to have some security."
"Sometimes, boards, the CEO or the CFO don't want to admit failure," Mr. Byrns says. "They try to ride the storm, but that may take it all the way to the ground. That's the start of their demise."
Mr. Stanger, who came into healthcare as a registered nurse, says cost-cutting is a focal point of every hospital today, and it's is even more crucial for rural facilities, who have almost no margin for error as reimbursements from Medicare, Medicaid and private payors dwindle. Purchasing, he says, is an area where almost every small community hospital can improve.
"Hospitals need to look at their costs and treat the [finances] like they are your own pocketbook," Mr. Stanger says. "I'll get a minimum of three quotes on anything we buy. So many hospitals have one catalogue, and when they are acquiring things — could be blood pressure machines, garbage cans — they shop for everything in one magazine, which could be triple the prices from the Internet."
Frontier has helped several hospitals get back on their feet, from Florida to Georgia to Arizona, and they say hospital leaders in struggling facilities should know there are more partners willing to help.
"We just had this idea to help out the small, rural hospitals in communities," Mr. Byrns says. "We want to turn around struggling facilities one at a time, focusing all of our energy and resources to that one facility until it is stable and tailoring all our resources to the needs of the facility."
The district that controls South Cameron Memorial called in David Byrns and James Stanger of Frontier Hospitals to an emergency board meeting to see if they could help the struggling facility. Mr. Byrns serves as CEO and Mr. Stanger is COO of Frontier, a Deerfield Beach, Fla.-based hospital management company.
The two men, who have worked for various-sized hospitals over their 20-plus-year careers, agreed to take on the operations of South Cameron Memorial and immediately got to work. Within the first six weeks, they eliminated $3 million of the hospital's $3.8 million of debt. Hospital employees used to field 20 to 30 calls every day from creditors, but that is a thing of the past. South Cameron Memorial has been debt-free since October 2011.
"Those two can help in the turnaround of any facility," says Charles Getwood, administrator of South Cameron Memorial and its accompanying behavioral health facility. "They saved our two hospitals two years ago."
Background of Frontier
Mr. Byrns and Mr. Stanger were both raised in small towns outside larger metropolitan areas, and they said they founded Frontier to protect rural hospitals and keep healthcare local."We've seen so many of these small-town hospitals or sole community hospitals, where they are the only hospital in their county or parish, and we see other people come in and rob them blind," Mr. Stanger says. "We deal with salt-of-the-Earth people who just want to keep healthcare in their county."
Under the Frontier mission, Mr. Byrns and Mr. Stanger manage, lease or buy hospitals. They say they would rather lease only the operations of the hospital so the community can still own the "bricks and sticks."
"We still want the community to have skin in the game," Mr. Byrns says. "We own everything but the building. As owners of the hospital, the community still has something to fall back on should anything happen. We still want them to have some security."
Doing more with less
Many rural hospitals today are in a bind. In the first four months of 2013, nine different hospitals shuttered their doors, many of which were rural or based in smaller communities. Mr. Byrns says three of the nine hospitals that closed actually turned down Frontier's offer to operate them. Mr. Byrns, an accountant by trade and former CFO of several hospitals, says it's unfortunate to see a local healthcare provider forced into closure."Sometimes, boards, the CEO or the CFO don't want to admit failure," Mr. Byrns says. "They try to ride the storm, but that may take it all the way to the ground. That's the start of their demise."
Mr. Stanger, who came into healthcare as a registered nurse, says cost-cutting is a focal point of every hospital today, and it's is even more crucial for rural facilities, who have almost no margin for error as reimbursements from Medicare, Medicaid and private payors dwindle. Purchasing, he says, is an area where almost every small community hospital can improve.
"Hospitals need to look at their costs and treat the [finances] like they are your own pocketbook," Mr. Stanger says. "I'll get a minimum of three quotes on anything we buy. So many hospitals have one catalogue, and when they are acquiring things — could be blood pressure machines, garbage cans — they shop for everything in one magazine, which could be triple the prices from the Internet."
Frontier has helped several hospitals get back on their feet, from Florida to Georgia to Arizona, and they say hospital leaders in struggling facilities should know there are more partners willing to help.
"We just had this idea to help out the small, rural hospitals in communities," Mr. Byrns says. "We want to turn around struggling facilities one at a time, focusing all of our energy and resources to that one facility until it is stable and tailoring all our resources to the needs of the facility."
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