[Editor's Note: This is the final of three articles on the GRMC Board of Trustees meeting on March 30, 2018. It addresses the actions taken after the executive session.]

By Mary Alice Murphy

Gila Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees Acting Chairman Secretary-Treasurer Mike Morones brought the regular session back to order by roll call, following the executive session at the March 30, 2018 regular meeting.

"We need to look at and take action on what we discussed related to revenue service contracts," Morones said. "The first is a contract with Health Care Resources Group (HRG)." The motion was made and seconded.

During discussion, Chief Financial Officer Richard Stokes said both contracts are with revenue cycle companies who specialize in billing and collections. "I am proposing out-sourcing to HRG some of our billing office activities to get better collections. I estimate we will net approximately $4.9 million in additional collections over the next 12 months from the contract with HRG."

Trustee Tony Trujillo said: "It is a big task to get all the money owed to us. This group has a proven track record."

Morones agreed and said the hospital's goal should be to collect 100 percent of the bills sent out, although "maybe that is over-reaching, but that should be our goal."

The contract was approved.

The next contract was with Cardinal Health Management.

Stokes said Cardinal Management provides pharmacy services. "In addition, they will bring expertise in the 340B program and will work with physicians one-on-one and in groups. They will bring tighter purchasing procedures, and we should net about $730,000 in annual savings."

"This is another area that has probably not been hit as much in the past two years, except for how important it is for our profitability," Morones said. "It will keep us in compliance and expand what we can do."

The item was approved.

Stokes told the Beat after the meeting had concluded that he had told the Finance Committee: "Talkin' ain't doin'. It's time to start doing."

He said the hospital would retain some pieces of the billing process locally, and "we still have local people to manage. This is not intended to be a staff reduction. We are going to work with HR to move employees into other critically needed positions in the hospital. My job is the 450 other employees. We have to increase cash flow, so we can give raises to nurses, techs and staff."

Marketing Director Doug Oakes also talked to the Beat about the hospital's profitability plan. "They, Taffy (chief executive officer Arias), JoBeth (interim chief financial officer Vance) and Richard have been looking at it for a while. By utilizing experts in Meditech, like HRG, billing will work better. The hospital will be more profitable. This will help us capture lost revenue over the years. It has been a major pain point for physicians. We will be paid for the work we've done. We've earned the money. HRG only gets paid when they get revenue for us. It's good for the hospital. Millions of lost revenues will be coming to us. It's a path to profitability. It took this administration to discover these problems. This is the most positive and actionable path for us to do. We have the will to put the plan into place. The administrative team has looked at the best strategies."

On a question about the possibility of lost jobs in billing, Oakes said they will be moved to positions within the hospital "where we have critical needs. It's about doing the right thing for the employees, the hospital and the community. We need to concentrate on that."