Archived Story
Natchez Regional now out of bankruptcy
Published 11:50am Tuesday, September 4, 2012NATCHEZ — Natchez Regional Medical Center has been released from bankruptcy and will make its final payment to creditors in that action next week.
That’s the message Chief Executive Officer William Heburn brought to the Adams County Board of Supervisors Tuesday when presenting them with the hospital’s budget for fiscal year 2012-2013.
“We want to thank all of the creditors for believing in us and sticking by us during this time,” Heburn said.
NRMC’s $2.9 million budget for 2013 includes $1.7 million in capital purchases and $1.1 million in reserves.
The hospital will end the current fiscal year with $161,407 in net income from its operations, down from $326,491 in 2011.
That decline is in part reflective of the fact that the hospital has hired two new orthopedic surgeons, a vascular surgeon, an OB-GYN, an anesthesiologist and a family practice doctor in addition to buying new equipment and making upgrades to the facility, Heburn said.
“Part of what we have done this year has been to clean up our second floor. It has been completely repainted, outfitted with modern (equipment) such as televisions.”
Chief Financial Officer Charles Mock said some of those numbers will change once programs get better established at the hospital.
“We are trying to serve the clientele of Natchez-Adams County and the local areas, and we are trying to offer them the services they need for the health care needs,” he said. “Sometimes you don’t start off by making a lot of money off (those services), you have to get going.”
The net income for 2013 for the hospital is projected at $957,293.
The projected increase also includes having the burden of legal fees associated with the hospital’s litigation against its former management company, Quorum, lifted, Mock said.
“If the litigation comes out positively it won’t be such a burden,” he said. “We are hoping to get that settled and past.”
The supervisors unanimously approved the budget, and expressed thanks to the hospital administration for turning its financial situation around.
Heburn said the hospital recently had its second busiest month in four years — in essence, since bankruptcy proceedings started — of treating patients who needed or wanted to stay in Natchez.
“While modest, we are still growing, and we still have expectations of exceeding what we did this year next year,” Heburn said.
