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Hospital's chief is someone to rely on
Published Sunday, May 4, 2008
After a couple of months of wondering if Natchez Regional Medical Center would be open much longer, its future appears more solid than ever now.
So what’s the difference?
The hospital’s board of trustees has hired a national firm that seems to know its business — extremely well.
Scott Phillips, founder of Healthcare Management Partners, LLC, stepped in a couple of weeks ago as the new CEO of Natchez Regional.
To listen as Phillips discusses Natchez Regional’s current state of affairs is a little like listening to a trusted physician assure you that everything is going to be A-OK.
“Almost all of my management experience has been in turnaround situations,” Phillips says calmly, adding that he has more than 30 years of healthcare industry management experience. “I like what I do because healthcare is important work.”
As soon as his firm was hired, Phillips said, he and his coworkers began digging up information about Natchez Regional, the market and the competitors in the area.
They’ve met with most of the stakeholders — supervisors, board of trustee members, hospital staffers and members of the medical community.
“We’ve been very busy, working 16 to 17 hours a day trying to figure out this puzzle,” Phillips said.
In late February the county- owned hospital admitted that its previously announced “profitable” year in 2007 was, in fact, a year of great financial losses.
The immediate need for cash was so dire that board of trustees members lobbied the Legislature for permission to file bankruptcy under Chapter 9, a special code allowing government entities to file for bankruptcy.
If Natchez Regional eventually files for bankruptcy under Chapter 9, it will become the first hospital in the state — and one of only a handful in the country — to do so.
Interestingly, Phillips said that under normal circumstances the bankruptcy wouldn’t be necessary.
“This hospital is not bankrupt. It has a cash flow problem,” he said. “Its assets are significantly greater than its liabilities. But because of its legal structure, it’s not able to borrow money like other hospitals.”
Since county taxpayers technically own the building, the hospital isn’t allowed to put up the facility as collateral, as a homeowner might to obtain a mortgage.
“If it didn’t have its legal structure, you’d refinance the debt, regain some liquidity and move out,” Phillips said.
Another misconception many people have, Phillips said, is that providing indigent and uncompensated care caused the hospital’s current financial situation. Despite large “billed” amounts of unpaid care, the hospital actually incurred only a small amount of direct expenses as a result.
Lastly, Phillips said a final myth is that Natchez Regional’s financial dilemma is because it’s a “victim of unscrupulous competitors.”
Not true, he said. Other hospitals survive in other parts of the country despite fierce competition.
“Healthcare has become, by national design, a very competitive industry,” he said.
Although Phillips may not say it directly, the reality is that the hospital’s unprofitability is probably a combination of being overstaffed in some areas and just overall mismanagement in other areas. That’s my opinion, not Phillips’.
He’s too busy working on the fix to speculate further, or to alarm hospital workers by talking about possible staff cuts. But it sounds to me like he’s moving toward righting the listing hospital.
Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.
Comments
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on May 4, 2008 at 8:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Its always the same,the biggest problem facing a lot of places are the no-pays. Thats the same here,If theirs a dance somebody has to pay the fiddler. They are too many no pays working the system in our whole economic structure. Why would someone who choses NOT to work or be productive,have children without fathers and then get on goverment assisted programs that are too many to mention,this includes minorities,illegals,whites,whoever that work the system the same as others work at a job. They are relentless and fiercely serious their job, the job of sitting on their rear and taking up space. WHY do we have to pay for these people simply because they claim to be disadvanteged. I worked with a lot of them at IP. They were working their and still getting goverment asssistance. This filters down into our society across the whole nation. Read the statistics on California about how many no-pays live there.There is more to the real reasons that Natchez Regional is in the shape it,s in and it,s not just the poor that are always no pays. Anybody can work the nopay system,it,s just a matter of knowing the right process or just stealing it and not going to jail like BInky did. I won,t see it in my lifetime,but ONE day this will change. Hard times will make it so. Do the math
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on May 4, 2008 at 8:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I also heard that a lot of well to do people in Natchez owe Regional a substantial amount of monies. Like I said anybody can work systems and owe money, they know who they are and the employes that have worked there over the years know them. Why cut the workers benefits to the bone,when they didn,t put the hospital in that shape. They did the same thing at IPCO. Always punish the ones who tote the load and make it go.
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on May 4, 2008 at 8:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Usually when they have someone come in, He or she is the hatchetman. They cut everything but the top ones pay or benefits. I call it the Donald Trump syndrome.
Posted by dedicatednurse (anonymous) on May 4, 2008 at 9:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The article states Mr. Phillips has met with hospital staff, but I can assure you, I work there and I have no clue who he is. The hospital has not told us anything that is going on. It sure would be nice if he would at least introduce himself to the employees.
Posted by hitormiss (anonymous) on May 4, 2008 at 11:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
dedicatednurse,
I think the employees of the hospital are seeing today a fine example of the Democrats turning the story around to make it the way THEY want. It does not mean that the events actually took place.
We all have felt the pain of the Democrats bias reporting.
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on May 4, 2008 at 3:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I hope the best for Mr. Phillips and All the nurses and staff at NMRC. I believe that there will be services cuts or service deletion to be able to get the hospital back on firm ground. I have seen this starting to happen at other hospitals all across the south and it is going to happen at NMRC.
I hope that the doctors that are not performing will be able to find suitable employment elsewhere and that patients will be first on teh list of real concerns.
Godd Luck Mr. Phillips. You really need it.
Posted by hopefloats (anonymous) on May 4, 2008 at 10:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Overstaffed and just overall mismanagement...does he mean in adminstration? He hasn't met with the hospital staffers as he was quoted...may have met with management.
Good news with this new guy...maybe he will give the staffers their 5% back.
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on May 4, 2008 at 11:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Give us a break. How does a business just wake up one morning and notice they are in the hole for hundreds of thousands. What did they do to the people managing the monies????? Probably gave them another job,then everybody blames the employees. They don,t handle finances the management does that. Where did they go? To Hawaii on vacation? Geez
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on May 6, 2008 at 8:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How can you rely on someone who just rolled into town,is he a miracle worker sent from heaven???? See what things are like next year. All we hear is all the great things that are happening, but really it,s mostly another rental store next to the new fitness center
Posted by muleman (anonymous) on May 6, 2008 at 10:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Did Cooper think this guy was coming in and tell NRMC they were doomed? It's smoke and mirrors folks! Is Cooper this easily mislead? As always, question the source and the data.
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