UMC shows small profit

Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2003 | 8:44 a.m.

A year ago the financial situation of the state's largest hospital was so dire that public officials considered the impact that shutting down University Medical Center would have on Las Vegas.

Today UMC and its satellite urgent care centers have struggled back and for the first time in more than two years declared a small profit.

For the month, UMC reported profit of a little more than $55,000. The hospital, operated by Clark County as a nonprofit, public institution, had required a $38 million infusion a year ago to keep operating, and Clark County commissioners warned then that the hemorrhaging must stop.

"I am happy to report that we made it," UMC acting Chief Executive Officer Mike Walsh told the commission Tuesday. "We anticipate that even in months where we don't show a small profit our losses will be significantly smaller than they have been in the past."

Clark County officials attributed the turnaround to job cuts, including the equivalent of 300 full-time workers in the hospital system; renegotiated contracts with vendors, including pharmaceutical suppliers; closure of two Quick Care urgent care centers; and more aggressive collection of payment information from patients.

The system was hammered by the economic downturn that began in 2000 and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when thousands of Las Vegas workers lost their jobs and health insurance. The last time the hospital reported a profit was January 2001.

A growing population in Clark County, including a growing percentage of indigent patients, hit the hospital hard. Since 2001 the percentage of patients with insurance has dropped from 64 percent to 55 percent.

Walsh and County Manager Thom Reilly warned that many of the same factors that contributed to UMC's financial crisis are still in place. The improved financial situation is "very fragile," Walsh said.

"We have seen a significant drop just from September to October in the amount of revenue we have generated," Walsh said.

A bad flu season, which has been widely predicted, could put the hospital back in the hole, he said.