• New software introduced to SVH system

The approximate $3.5 million fiscal shortfall is attributed to a change in software accounting, Star Valley Health COO Mike Hunsaker said in a SVI Media Weekday Wake-Up interview this week.

“We converted, 18 months ago, to a new record system software and financial” he explained. He noted  the changes included Epic Systems and NetSuite, are common accounting systems used with health care facilities across the nation.

“They all work together and it takes time to stabilize the system and there were changes that occurred that we were not on top of like we should have been.”

RELATED: STAR VALLEY HEALTH AND CURRENT FINANCIAL STATUS –

He added, “We discovered the Epic system was feeding into the wrong spot in the finances. That went on for a few months and after the first of January we realized we had a problem.”

He advised the problem put the hospital at the approximate $3 million shortfall.

Hunsaker said prior to finding the problem, everything in  the accounting process indicated the local hospital was having a “stellar financial year.”

Hunsaker said the corrections were made and the hospital budget is returning to normal.

“From the standpoint of our financial strength, that has not changed,” he said. “Right now we are just below the budget with two months of the fiscal year left.” He anticipated with the busy summer season arriving, the two month shortfall would be corrected.

Hunsaker emphasized, “Right now we are truly financially strong.”

Looking back, he acknowledged, “We realize we are at fault there. We understand that we could have done a better job in making sure our financial systems were reporting accurately.”

He added, “But not all is lost. We’ve found it and we are changing that.”

With the changes will be an emphasis on accounts receivable with patients owing $10 million for their portions of the costs for health care not covered by insurance.

In the past, accounts receivable have averaged $5 million from patients owing the hospital money.

Hunsaker attributed the rise in accounts receivable to the cost of health care and inflation in recent years, that combined with higher insurance deductibles and co-pays.

“We are working hard to take that down and we have made a plea to the patients to come in and settle up with us,” he said. “People are coming in and setting up payment plans to take care of their bill.”

Hunsaker added, “Don’t hesitate to call and work this out. We want to provide health care and provide services in the community.”

As an attempt to strengthen cash flow, the retirement programs at Star Valley Health were put on a temporary hold.

The hospital provides a six percent match for an employee’s retirement. “For now we have paused that match from the employer for a period of time until we are back on top of our cash flow,” Hunsaker said. “Once we work through this situation and I’m confident that we will, our organization has made the commitment to reinstate the six percent match to our employees and our intent is to provide that match to make it up to them. Our intent over the next several months is to make that happen.”

For the complete interview with Hunsaker regarding the funding shortfall and plans for the future, see SVInews.com.