Cookeville Regional’s new fiscal year budget approved by Cookeville City Council on first reading, but not before some concern about ER wait times.
A resident asked CEO Buffy Key what was being done in this budget to reduce those times. Key said the problem is universal in health care today.
“We have been working on that for quite some time, ” Key said. “And so, we also have an urgent care that we’ve opened seven days a week to 11 p.m. to help relieve some of that wait time. As far as any other expansion, we’ve got the new ER, and we are looking at a new south tower expansion as well.”
Key said emergency rooms across the country struggle with long wait times and a lack of space. Key said CRMC has a five-to-seven year growth plan to help meet the community’s growth needs.
Key was also asked about potential cuts to Medicaid. Key said she sits on the American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board, which is fighting the proposed $800 billion cut to Medicaid funding.
“We’re worried about that, not so much for CRMC, but for the patients in our community, because a lot of people will lose their insurance,” Key said. “It will not affect them coming to our hospital. We will see everyone, regardless of ability to pay, that never stops, ever.”
Key said she is afraid many rural hospitals will have to close their doors or reduce services if the Medicaid cuts are passed.
Key said the 340B program, which provides discounted outpatient drugs is still running strong.
“We have millions of dollars in cost avoidance,” Key said. “What that means is our patients pay less for their prescriptions than other people do because of the ability to have that program.”
The budget is highlighted by a projected $4 million in net income in the new fiscal year, up from some $1 million in 2025. Operating margins are projected at 4.1 percent, which is comparative to national averages.
A 7 percent increase in net revenue is budgeted with projected increases in volumes, new physicians, and improvements in length of stay and cash collections.
