Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center closed September with a positive margin of nearly $1.5 million. The margin is close to $75,000 short of what was budgeted for the month. The medical center posted a positive bottom line of $3.7 million through the first quarter of the fiscal year, but remains about $400,000 behind budget for the year.
Operating expenses continue to be problematic. In September, expenses were more than $2.5 million over budget. Fortunately patient volumes have been strong. Total surgery cases were 3 percent ahead of budget for the month and total admissions were 2 percent ahead.
While the financial figures mostly are positive, patient-satisfaction numbers for September were well below target. The overall average for the medical center last month was below last year's score and almost a full point behind this year's target.
"We continue to be a provider of choice. People want to come here for their care because they trust our people and value our expertise," said David Hefner, executive director and chief operating officer. "However, our patient satisfaction must be more focused. We need to continue improving convenience and ease of access for our patients and we must pay increased attention to patient satisfaction if we want to maintain momentum."
Hefner predicts that hospital and clinic-wide compression will continue over the next four years until additional buildings outlined in the master site and facilities plan are built.
"We must get smarter about our handoffs and communication so our care delivery is seamless for our patients," said Hefner.