Hospitals Cutting Back

By: Staff Reports | News Channel 7
Published: January 12, 2009

Local hospitals are cutting back to deal with the recession. In this 7 On Your Side Medical Watch, the South Carolina Hospital Association tells us, many are implementing hiring freezes, cutting capital expenses and cutting non-essential travel. At the same time, there are more uninsured patients and more people coming in to the ER.

Spartanburg Regional Spokesperson Chad Lawson tells us, “We continue to see higher numbers of uninsured patients in the Emergency Center. As a safety net, state district hospital, we’re committed to providing this care, but are in talks with multiple community partners to deliver that care at its most appropriate site. The average cost of a visit to the Emergency Center at Spartanburg Regional to attend to, for example, a sore throat complaint is much higher than at a physician’s office or a minor care facility. By working in tandem with local health clinics that serve low-income families and the uninsured, we hope to develop the right infrastructure that will provide non-emergent care at a lower cost while improving the flow of genuine trauma cases and emergency needs. We have implemented a freeze on discretionary spending, including the expense of outside catering for hospital meetings, as well as travel (which includes mileage, in addition to attending conferences and out-of-town meetings). For instance, we conduct as much business between our Spartanburg and Greer campuses as possible with conference calls. These are considered to be preemptive efforts. As a result of cuts in these areas, we are able to conduct business without any freezes on clinical hires. We have a strong financial position which, in conjunction with a hold on any unnecessary spending, and deferment of some capital projects, has given us the ability to weather today’s sluggish economy. In fact, the country’s three top financial ratings agencies (Moody’s, Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s) recently gave us top marks for financial performance.”

Spokesperson Heidi Charalambous of AnMed in Anderson tells News Channel 7 the hospital has eliminated some positions, but mostly through attrition and normal turnover. AnMed has had no major layoffs.

Spokesperson Sandy Dees says the Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center is keeping a close eye on spending, and is postponing some capital projects.