The panelists discussed how inflation and increasing interest rates are creating new challenges for their hospital systems. Rick Allen, Chief Executive Officer of Warren General Hospital in Pennsylvania mentioned that agency and traveler costs have created issues throughout the hospital. Bashar Nasser with General Champion Regional Medical Center spoke about how they have been doing profit sharing and giving bonuses to employees for the past nine years. Tom Seamers, CEO at Wilbarger General Hospital in Texas discussed how labor is a key factor for their hospital. Tammy Wallace from UCLA Health discussed how they are focused on growing the top line and recruiting more specialties to reduce out migration. They also discussed how the Fed fund rate has gone up from 0.25 to 4.75%, making it still a good time to invest and grow.
Investing and Reducing Costs
It is a good time for healthcare organizations to double down and invest while taking advantage of competitive borrowing rates. UCLA Health has implemented several strategies to manage vendor costs, such as leasing their own warehouse, negotiating better pricing with vendors, utilizing reprocessing, decoupling equipment agreements, and leveraging the 340B program. Smaller rural hospitals can look into case management and working with a GPO to maximize discounts. All department directors should be encouraged to take ownership of their departments and look for cost savings.
Managing Labor Costs
Managing labor costs has been difficult due to the pandemic, inflation and rising wages. The panelists discussed looking internationally for nurses, working with local schools to sponsor nursing programs, allow for more clinical training hours, and focusing on retention. They have also done job fairs in surrounding areas and offered mileage benefits to help attract new staff.
Reducing Costs and Maintaining Margins
There are a few ways to reduce costs in hospitals, including reducing union influence and implementing nurse-patient ratios. In addition, hospitals can look for hidden cash in their aging accounts receivable and use strong negotiating strategies when dealing with insurance companies. Finally, it is important to show care and compassion to staff, as this will help increase morale and thus efficiency.
Communication and Focus on Top-line Growth
Communication is key for maintaining margins. It's important to stay focused on top-line growth and expense reduction, while also taking care of your people and staying mindful of inflation. Focus on your bread-and-butter service lines like cardiology, orthopedics, and oncology, and strive to grow your top line faster than your expenses in order to maintain a healthy balance sheet.
Note: This is an AI generated transcript, not edited by a staff writer and is solely intended for educational purposes. If you have any questions/concerns, reach out to events@beckershealthcare.com
This panel was live on 04/04/2023 at the event listed here.
If you are interested in event like this, you can visit our Upcoming Conferences.