WCHS budget goes up
Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
Weston County Health Services’ board of trustees approved a budget that includes the acquisition of the Newcastle and Upton clinics from Monument Health, which will mean an additional $6,839,217 in expenses for fiscal year 2022, according to the budget.
The purchase will also result in a name change for both facilities. As of July 1, the clinics will be known as Weston County Newcastle Clinic and Weston County Upton Clinic.
An open house for the Newcastle clinic is scheduled for July 8 at 2 p.m. and Upton will celebrate the occasion on July 21 at 10 a.m. The Upton open house will also mark the opening of the Weston County Pharmacy telepharmacy location in the Upton clinic.
On June 17, the board approved a budget totaling $25,333,618, which is considerably higher than last year’s almost $18.5 million.
According to CEO Maureen Cadwell, the addition of the clinics to the facility’s budget is what led to the steep increase in expenditures.
The increases can be seen in the salaries and benefits line item, with $13,624,256 budgeted for that expense, up $3,482,250 from the previous year. In addition to the clinic staff, the facility also added a physical therapist and additional time for the Manor, which contributes to some of the increase.
Supply costs are also increasing drastically, with an additional $2,206,888 added to the line item for this year, making the total $5,953,480.
The addition of the two clinics also adds roughly $6.7 million in revenue to the district’s budget.
Over the next year, Cadwell said, the district will work to integrate the clinics and their staff into WCHS’s operations. The purchase also provides opportunities to save money, she said.
The Weston County Health Services board of trustees also approved paying an estimated payment of $200,000 with the final price being determined within 60 days to Monument Health for the equipment, staff and other clinic infrastructure, not including the buildings.
“This doesn’t include the buildings, which are not owned by Monument Health,” Cadwell told the News Letter Journal. “Right now, I believe that we will lease the buildings, similar to Monument Health, while looking at what we could potentially do in the future.”
WCHS will be responsible for $359,374 to build the Epic medical record system for the clinics.
The trustees originally expressed interest in acquiring the clinics in December when they submitted a letter of intent to Monument Health. At that time, Cadwell reported that the idea was initially discussed because of the 340B program.
The 340B program, according to hrsa.gov, enables covered entities to “stretch scarce federal resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services.”
“Manufacturers participating in Medicaid agreed to provide outpatient drugs to covered entities at significantly reduced prices,” the website says. “Eligible health care organizations/covered entities are defined in statute and include HRSA-supported (Health Resources and Services Administration) health centers and look-alikes, Ryan White clinics and State AIDS Drug Assistance programs, Medicare/Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospitals, children’s hospitals and other safety net providers.”
Cadwell explained that if the district employs the providers working at the clinics, then the retail pharmacy would be able to use the 340B program to purchase medications at significantly reduced costs. The goal, Cadwell said, would be to provide medications to the public at a reduced cost, although she noted that might take some time.
Another perk to bringing the clinics under the hospital district’s auspices, as well as employing the additional staff, would be an increase in reimbursement from Medicare, the CEO added. She said that the clinic being a department of the hospital district would allow Weston County to “maximize reimbursement” from Medicare.
Cadwell said that the costs associated with the acquisition are preliminary and that additional costs could be included. She noted that the clinics would need to remain in the separate facilities due to space restraints and the number of providers that would be employed.
Cadwell said that the urgent care area at the hospital has three examination rooms, one treatment room and two offices. While this space could help to house the additional services, that is something that might be considered down the road, she said.
“There is a lot of net transition that needs to be done,” Cadwell added.” Basically, once we are through all that, we can determine if there is a final price, if we will have to pay them or maybe they pay us.”
The timeline for the potential transition, Cadwell said, is three to four months.
“There are a lot of people that think we are owned by Monument Health, the hospital and the nursing home,” Cadwell said. “We are not, and we are hoping that the transition will help people see that division. Maybe that will help them recognize we aren’t owned by anyone else.”
“We are owned by the citizens of Weston County and the hospital district. We rely on the taxpayers to support many things that we have done,” Cadwell added. “For the people, we can bring all their local health care under the same umbrella. Hopefully, it will be less confusing that way.”
She noted that the facility would still have a tie to Monument Health for supplies and support, including continued access to specialists.