Hospital finishes fiscal year on positive
St. Luke Hospital finished its fiscal year in-the-black.
That was the news reported Thursday by St. Luke Hospital and Living Center Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Armstrong to St. Luke Hospital Auxiliary.
Plans continue to move forward for a multimillion-dollar renovation and improvement project at the hospital. Construction management company Hutton Construction and architects Spangenberg-Phillips are reviewing the plans to make sure the project can be completed as designed within the proposed budget.
Armstrong said bonds would be obtained to finance the hospital renovation. There also is fund-raising being planned by St. Luke Foundation.
About 10 percent of the total hospital revenue comes from taxpayers, Armstrong said, and 87 percent is from patient services.
“The question has been asked, ‘Why do we need a new hospital if there aren’t any inpatients?’” Armstrong said.
He explained that 15 percent of the hospital’s revenue was from inpatient services, 53 percent from outpatient services, 25 percent from St. Luke Living Center, 4 percent from St. Luke Physician Clinic, and 5 percent from Marion County Home Care.
“The primary reasons for the building project are to expand physical therapy and to improve inpatient rooms,” Armstrong said.
Currently, the hospital does not meet state guidelines for having an adequate sprinkler system in every room of the hospital and has been “grandfathered in.” At some point, the hospital will be required to meet those requirements.
There also are concerns about making all areas of the hospital handicapped accessible.
Also, much of the infrastructure of the hospital continues to be challenging to repair and replace because many parts have become obsolete because of age.
For more information, patrons are encouraged to contact Armstrong at the hospital, (620) 382-2177.
