Gifts Provide the Difference

The Foundation Trustees approved the release of around $150,000 to cover program
costs at its January annual meeting. The money will be used to purchase two important items. The first is an Electronic Data Management and Archiving System (EDM).

The EDM will replace the paper system which has been used since the hospital was founded. Paper copies of patient records including notes, lab reports, and radiology studies were kept for over 20 years. As PRMC grew so did the paper file volume which had to be maintained and stored. The physical weight of these files grew to the point where they exceeded the weight limitations of the floors on which they sat. When space limitations were exhausted, some of the files were transferred to the salt mines in Hutchinson.

The new system will store these files electronically. It will allow the Health Information staff to scan old records into the system as well as document current patient information directly. Medical records will now be readily available and storage will no longer be a challenge. This system has a price tag of about $78,000. We have some very happy Health Information personnel who have been waiting a long time for this system.

The second is a new server. A server is a computer which manages groups of computers. There are many servers in the PRMC computer system. A new server was needed to replace the old one which could not handle the new CPSI software update.

The software which manages all of the complex interactions of the various PRMC departments is called CPSI. The software actually runs the hospital. Annually the CPSI company updates this software and sometimes this process requires some adjustments with the hardware involved which in this case is the server. The next update will exceed the capabilities of the current server. There is no choice, the server must be upgraded or the system will not work. The new server comes with a price tag of around $68,000.

The Pratt Health Foundation work provides the margin of excellence in an uncertain world of reimbursements. The 2006 fiscal year was a demonstration of this dynamic.

Pratt Regional Medical Center provided over $60 million of medical services in 2006. That is money we could have received for the services we performed. However, the
revenue deductions for PRMC in the fiscal 2006 year were over $28 million. This includes Medicare and Medicaid deductions of $19.5 million, Blue Cross deductions of $4 million and bad debt, charity and commercial write-offs of $4.5 million.

After the revenue deductions are subtracted from the $60 million, the net operating revenue for PRMC was around $32 million with over half of that going to employee salaries and benefits. Operating the Pratt Regional Medical Center plant and programs requires significant income which often makes it difficult, if not impossible, to keep up with technical medical equipment and operational system needs. PRMC does a masterful job of balancing the revenue with expenditures, but the gifts of those who support the work of PRMC are very important and are funding the purchases of some very important medical equipment and services at PRMC.

The donations which were initiated with the “Simply the Best” Capital Campaign have acted as catalysts in purchasing over $2 million of technical medical equipment for PRMC in the last four years. We should be proud of the community pride which has made this campaign and PRMC “Simply the Best” for all of us.

A Win – Win Opportunity

The PHF has established several programs which do not cost employees or
participants anything but help the Foundation raise corporate contributions. One of these is the Dillons Grocery Coupon program and the other is the WalMart gift card program. If you buy $100 of coupons or a gift card, your $100 will buy $100 of goods at these stores. The benefit for the Foundation is that Dillons and WalMart make a contribution based on the sales of these coupon and gift card programs. The Foundation receives 4% or more of the sales as a charitable gift. If the sales volume is great enough, the program provides several thousand dollars annually for the technical medical equipment needs of PRMC.

If you would like to participate, we would welcome you to do so. Coupons and gift cards can be purchased by either stopping by the PHF office (203 S. Main) or seeing Nancy Bailey at PRMC. We will look forward to seeing you.

A publication of the Pratt Health Foundation (PHF)
203 S. Main * Pratt, Kansas 67124
( PHF and PRMC are 501(c)3 charitable healthcare organizations.)