GMH's financial strategies could spark debate

Guam - In an effort to cut costs at the financially crippled Guam Memorial Hospital, hiring has been stopped and increments have been frozen. While officials look to reduce spending and generate revenue, some ideas were also raised that could spark significant debate amongst the medical community.  

 

"So yes, JCO helps with safety and quality, but can we afford it that's the big question," proclaimed Dr. Edna Santos. But she and the other board of trustees members don't have an answer to that question just yet. During Thursday night's meeting, board members weighed the pros and cons of maintaining accreditation, which took the hospital decades to obtain. Each year GMH spends in excess of $50,000 for accreditation.

Board member Albert Gurusamy said, "So do we want to continue? Because on the quality side, we have a lot of manpower pushing us to meet certain quality standards specifically to meet JCO requirements and we're not even talking about the money - we're spending for the audit committee to come out."

 

The hospital had to foot a $36,000 bill for the unannounced survey conducted by JCO back in August and will have to pay for another visit next month.  Board members discussed how JCO certification isn't required for the hospital as the Joint Commission is a for-profit company. In contrast, GMH must have certification from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in order to receive federal funding. 

 

Gurusamy said, "The reality is we've improved our patient care and that's the intention, so I personally feel that Joint Commission has value for us because it ultimately improves patient care, but CMS doesn't do it in the same specified way that the Joint Commission does it." He added, "We are going to have to really look at how we're going to tighten our belts here, so this is just the first step in coming meetings we may identify more measures of cost-cutting."

 

And while cutting costs is on the minds of hospital management, so too, is revenue generation. The frustration has spread to physicians like Dr. John Fergurgur, who is concerned that GMH isn't billing properly and making money. "The three parts that should always make money for the hospital is the operating room, radiology department, and the emergency room, but these are things that we just blow away. We're just trying to make cuts to try and pay our bills instead of trying to find ways to make revenue," he explained.

 

Gurusamy agreed, saying 50 people in the finance department at GMH haven't produced significant results and improvements must be demanded to improve efficiency, noting, "The recommendations are to cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut. We don't see any recommendations on how we can improve efficiency and maximize that, and if we continue in this direction then what's the point? We should privatize our whole financial services - billing and collection."

 

Any decisions on proposed cuts and changes to generate revenue have been put on hold pending further review and discussion.