Hospital finances improve

Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County ended its fiscal year with 91 days of cash on hand, meaning it will not default on its bond issue.

During a presentation Tuesday evening, Interim CEO Irene Richardson said the hospital ended its fiscal year above the 75 days of cash on hand minimum that would have triggered a default on its revenue bonds, which would have caused the hospital board to seek a management company to run MHSC. Other measures the hospital administration had to worry about were its debt service coverage ratio and its debt to capitalization percentage.

“(The days of cash on hand) was the one we were mostly concerned with,” Richardson said.

For the upcoming fiscal year, Richardson said she’s projecting a $2.3 million gain as the hospital continues to seek areas to cuts costs. One such area is hiring employees to take positions filled by staffing agencies, which Richardson said can amount to two or three times the cost of an in-house employee.

Richardson also said the hospital has to maintain its BBB- Standard and Poors rating, saying if it declines again, the hospital would no longer have an investment-grade rating.