Medical Park Hospital is the only operating hospital currently owned by Shiloh Health Services. It’s survival is key to the survival of Shiloh, according to MPH CEO Terry Amstutz.
“We will no longer be the stepchild, but the showcase,” Amstutz said. “This is the only hospital that Shiloh owns; they need a success story, and I think that’s what we can be. We certainly aren’t there now; but, I think in a year’s time we will be a lot closer to being the showcase than we are right now.
“Like I told the staff, we can start to have some success stories,” he said. “I think we have some of those right now because we have some people who do great work, but a lot of it gets overshadowed, by the other stuff; but, that’s not to be unexpected.
“We’ll have some confidence in our management, staff, and community, and everybody’s stress load will be better,” Amstutz added.
Amstutz said MPH is the only hospital Shiloh currently operates.
“I’m not sure about the other two, whether they’re still in ownership,” he said.
Those facilities, in Lubbock, Texas, and Plaquemine, La., have both been in bankruptcy; the Lubbock facility was sold in bankruptcy, and the Louisiana facility re-organized under a forced bankruptcy.
“This is the only operating they have; and, of course, they have an interest in it being successful,” Amstutz said. “If this is not successful, the cash flow to the corporation stops, too, as well as this hospital. So, everybody has an interest in this place being a going concern.”
Consequently, the turnaround plan which Amstutz has fashioned for MPH is designed to create savings of $1.5 million, excluding some $704,500 in annual costs.
“Our total savings are about $1.5 million, our total annual revenues are about $3.7 million; some of this is costs, and a great deal of that cost is the cost of trying to recruit two additional primary care physicians, family medicine and internal medicine, something like that, probably as employed individuals because that’s how they start until they get going,” Amstutz said. “Our total turnaround estimate that is not too wildly optimistic or too conservative is about a $4.1 million turnaround on an annual basis.”
That is contingent upon Medcaid Provider Tax re-imbursements hitting Amstutz’s projections.
“That is everything that will take us a little past break even,” he said. “There are still some things I’m trying to get a handle on with our hospital and corporate offices, but that will get us a long way toward meeting our challenges.”
Amstutz declined to go further into detail.
Meeting the challenges of the plan will allow MPH to pay off its property tax debt, stay within 25-30 days of its accounts payable, stablize supply volumes, keep payrolls current, and invest in capital equipment maintenance and upgrades, Amstutz said.
Financial stability will also help MPH in its relationship with its community board, he said.
“We met early in December, and they said they haven’t been getting much information; and, the information they had been getting has been pretty thin,” Amstutz said. “I told them I would try to provide them all the information I can. We are going to meet in January because of the holidays; and, I’ve had to have some time to really evaluate things before I know what’s going on.”
The proprietary nature of much of the information which the board has not received makes Amstutz’s position difficult he said.
“But, I’m going to see if I can them something that is meaningful so they can know what is going on with their hospital and what measures are taken and directions we’re taking, and how we’re operating,” he said.
Amstutz said he wants to provide some financial reporting basis for the community.
“That gives people something to hold on to, and helps with our transparency, and gives people an investment in us,” he said.
Hope, Ark. —
