About two months after receiving an $800,000 bailout from the state, Springfield Hospital is seeking additional help — this time from regulators at the Green Mountain Care Board.
Springfield Hospital Interim Chief Executive Officer Michael Halstead said the hospital’s “cash position is tenuous at best,” and he’s asking the care board to OK a budget adjustment that could allow collection of nearly $500,000 in additional patient revenue over the remainder of the fiscal year.
Board members did not immediately act on the request. Instead, Chairman Kevin Mullin said he wants to schedule a public meeting with Springfield Hospital leaders.
“I think that not only the board but the citizens in the Springfield area and even the citizens in the state of Vermont are looking for as much transparency as possible and (to learn) about how the turnaround is going,” Mullin said.
While Springfield Hospital has been struggling for years, the hospital’s failure to pay bills came to light in media reports late last year. The hospital’s chief executive officer quit soon after, and a subsequent audit faulted mismanagement and a lack of financial transparency.
The state has increased oversight of Springfield and sunk $800,000 into the hospital to prevent an imminent closure. Springfield also has cut staff and recently decided to close the hospital’s birthing center by June.
Care board documents show that, as of January, the hospital was running with a negative 11.6 percent operating margin and had just 17 days of cash on hand.
In his Wednesday letter to the care board, Halstead said hospital administrators have been “working on expense reductions the last few months approaching $6.5 million, but the gap in the shortfall continues to remain short of ‘break-even.’ ”
So the hospital is asking the care board for a 5 percent increase in its average “charge” or rate — the amount Springfield charges insurers. The modification would generate an extra $488,924 in net patient revenue during the fiscal year that runs through the end of September.
The hospital’s board approved the request on March 12, Halstead wrote, and the hospital is asking for the change to take effect May 1.
While the care board approved a similar request a few weeks ago for Gifford Medical Center, Springfield’s proposal is no small matter.
Mullin said the hospital’s request is “troubling.”
“By the same token, I think everyone wants to try to give them at least a fighting chance to come out the end of the tunnel with a viable health care system for their community,” Mullin said in an interview.