Page 36 - SFHN March 2021

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A message from our President In a recent report by Paul Keckley, he said that “Per
Chartis, 453 rural hospitals are in danger of closing and
most (77%) have 33 days or less of cash on hand. Per
How Can Summer Deloitte, by 2030, revenue from inpatient services will
decline by 35% and demand for inpatient beds will shrink
Already Be Here! by 44%.” The way we used to run hospitals worked well in
the past but today, maybe not.
What this says is that hospitals are going to need to
I was out working in the yard last week and you wouldn’t know that it was still change and innovate or risk becoming a statistic. Fiscal
mid-February. I remember when we first moved down to South Florida in the pressures will continue with the federal deficits and state
early 90’s and you could depend on having nice weather almost to May … not so budget downsizing. Even with the cost cutting that hospi-
much now. If it isn’t global warming, then what is it? P.S., not “global warming” Jaime Caldwell tals have done over the last ten years, it isn’t enough. A
is also responsible for the early onset of pollen season. Look at your driveway and new paradigm is emerging. Revenue constraints, the rise
your cars, it is already here. of the consumer, the aging of the healthcare workforce, the perfect storm is on the
The pandemic has caused many of us to think about the way things used to be. horizon.
Schools, clubs, pick-up basketball games, movies, and healthcare, will they ever be With all these challenges, forward-looking healthcare systems will survive and
the same? Will I ever get to go to Disneyworld and not wear a mask from this point do well. They will invest in their most valuable resource, their employees, and
forward? Return to Napa and enjoy tasting rooms without worrying that I might fashion responses to these challenges. The responses will be price transparency
become infected? Have we also seen the last days for hospitals operating from that has meaning, governance that brings in the best and the brightest to add value
processes they started in the 1960’s? to the leadership team, and a keen focus on ensuring that there is an ample supply
Hospital operating margins had declined by 96 percent through June of 2020 as of providers (physicians, nurses, and techs) to stabilize labor costs and ensure
reported by Kaufman Hall. Operating margins declined to 0.3 percent by the end access.
of 2020 and that result was only made better by the infusion of cash from the While the pandemic exacerbated the process, the innovative culture that has
CARES Act funding. With that added cash, operating margins were still only 2.7 been fostered by technology, that challenges the old norms, is hard at work. What
percent. As I shared many months ago, the plight of rural hospitals wasn’t good we are seeing is the death of an old paradigm and the birth of a new one. A new
then. Some forecasters several years ago were saying that a significant portion of paradigm is created where everyone along the continuum of care has some input
rural hospitals would slowly disappear. You just need to look at Becker’s and you into the care being delivered to every patient. The days of silos in the provision of
can see that happening … hospitals becoming urgent care centers and the distance care and the recordkeeping associated with that care are over. Integration will be
that rural American’s have to travel to get care for a critical health situation is an important and necessary part of this new paradigm.
increasing dramatically.

36 March 2021 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News