Edition 25
National Preparedness Month:
September is National Preparedness Month, and this year we’ve placed a special focus on wildfire readiness. Last week, we conducted a tabletop exercise simulating a fire near the nursing home building. We practiced both evacuation procedures of the EC, and planned for a shelter-in-place in the hospital. Exercises like this ensure we are ready to protect our patients and residents if a real emergency occurs. Thank you to everyone who participated—you make our emergency planning stronger.
Skills Fair:
A big thank you to all who participated in and supported the recent Nursing Skills Fair. This event provided a valuable opportunity for hands-on training, knowledge refreshers, and team collaboration. It was fun to check out the various booths.
Preparing for the 2026 Budget:
As we look ahead, our leadership team will soon begin working on the 2026 budgeting process. This will involve carefully reviewing staffing, capital needs, and financial priorities. We know the decisions we make must balance fiscal responsibility with the needs of our patients and residents. Your input and ideas are welcome—we want this process to reflect the voices of those doing the work every day.
Like many rural hospitals, we continue to balance financial challenges while maintaining our commitment to patient care. Our operating margins remain tight, but the team has worked hard to stabilize our revenue cycle, reduce backlog, and control expenses.
You may have noticed from our job postings that we have lifted the non-clinical hiring freeze on a case-by-case basis for a few positions. I’m still going to try to be extremely conservative about growing our workforce as we continue to prepare for the upcoming Medicaid cuts.
Rev Cycle Update:
This week we welcomed David Lane as a rev cycle consultant to help get us caught up and work out the bugs in our workflows. Even before his arrival, the Rev Cycle team has been making notable progress in drawing down the backlog of claims. In August, our collections were almost back to the pre-Cerner levels, and our cash position is also much improved.
Goose and I have been enjoying the new disc golf course at the Tonasket High School.