OHH profit bucks Texas hospital trend

The Olney Hamilton Hospital directors heard good news at their Dec. 2 meeting - the hospital has turned around a deep operating loss from last year at this time to a profit, days after the Texas Hospital Association reported that nearly twice as many hospitals were at risk of closure as before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I want to point out the main differences between this year’s year-to-date [operating income] and this year … Last year, a minus $1.3 million (operating loss). This year, $185,000 [profit]. Of course, we all know that was part of the time when folks were afraid to come to the hospital. That’s a huge swing from last year to this year,” Board Member Lonnie Rue said.

The THA said in a Nov. 30 report that the percent of Texas hospitals at serious risk of closure has nearly doubled in since 2020 - to 9.2 percent - and nearly half have negative operating margins. The report showed that 26 percent of rural hospitals are at risk of closure, compared to 5 percent of urban hospitals.

“I want to point out that we are doing something right. Half the hospitals in Texas are struggling with red ink. There are several that are anticipating having to close,” Board Chairman Dale Lovett said, citing the report.

OHH Administrator Mike Huff said the hospital is running in the black thanks to revenue from a booming pain management practice and an uptick in surgeries that patients had put off during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that “a series of different strategic moves” helped the facility rebound from the pandemic.

“We built the new clinic and that makes it easier to recruit physicians, made it easier for us to bring specialists from Wichita Falls,” Mr. Huff said. “We have a great staff that really cares for their patients and we have probably the lowest turnover rate for a rural hospital in the state. … It’s an intangible but it’s very real.”