Clarendon Memorial Hospital's Chief Financial Officer John Shaughnessy reported Tuesday evening on the hospital's finances during the regular board meeting.
Collections for December were $2,979,000, he said.
"Which is up, considering our average is usually around $2,600,000," he said, which reflected changes in the business office and a more comprehensive approach to collecting.
The healthcare system's debt service coverage ratio is compliant with bond covenants set forth by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, he said. Cash on hand at the end of December was 22.86 days.
The system posted a $182,988 loss for December. Year to date was a $541,634 loss, he said.
"That's about $347,291 behind where we were this December over last December," he said, and attributed some "dragging" to system conversions of physician practices. When change comes to electronic records, "there's always a painful cash flow transition that you go through," he said.
An additional consultant has been assigned the problem, he said.
Shaughnessy said the consultant has helped in the past with records. Chief of Staff Dr. Robert Eagerton bemoaned the Athena software at his office versus the ease of Meditech at the hospital.
"Athena has so many built-in extra steps that seem to divert you from where you want to go," Eagerton said.
Prescribing any controlled substances involves several superflous steps, he said.
"It just seems so totally useless to me," he said, and could be "pared down."
Later in the meeting, Chairman Don Ellis said next month would bring the annual evaluation for Chief Executive Officer Richard Stokes.
"Don't do it if you're not in a good mood," Stokes said, drawing laughter from the board.
Next month an executive team will begin work on a three year strategic plan, he said.
