Hospital CEO reports February operating loss, says generator connector failed during recent outage

Mr. Whitaker, CEO of the regional medical center, presented the facility's operational and financial report for February and answered commissioners' questions about a recent power outage.

Whitaker reported operating revenue of $8,400,000 and operating expenses of $9,500,000 for February, producing an operating loss of about $112,000 for the month. He said year-to-date the facility still has a net surplus of about $3,000,000. Whitaker described several ongoing projects including an anticipated two-year replacement of radiology equipment (CT, PET/CT, nuclear medicine camera) and the start of a new emergency physician group on July 1.

Commissioners raised concerns about a recent power outage in Silver City that affected the hospital. Whitaker said the hospital's emergency backup generators failed to transfer power because "the connect between the emergency generator and the panel... didn't switch"; he said Caterpillar was called, the connection has been fixed, and the hospital used established downtime procedures to continue patient care. "That system just failed in that particular instance," Whitaker said, and the hospital conducts monthly run tests on its generators.

The CEO also said his office is working to add contact information for the board of trustees on the hospital website and described recent accreditation survey activity and staff recognition programs.

Next steps: the hospital plans further radiology upgrades, will continue accreditation work including a likely full survey before the fiscal year end, and will start the new emergency physician group July 1.