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IRON MOUNTAIN -- A feasibility study for a planned restructuring of financially troubled Dickinson County Healthcare System may be available the first week of December, hospital trustees were told Thursday.
Berkeley Research Group was hired less than three weeks ago to evaluate the ability of DCHS to refinance its debt and develop turnaround strategies. "I'm optimistic that they are moving along quickly," said Bart Stupak of Washington D.C.-based Venable LLC who is coordinating the effort.
Representatives of Berkeley, a global consulting firm headquartered in California, are on site at DCHS and have been pleased with the staff's cooperation, Stupak said at a hospital board meeting.
Venable was hired Sept. 28 at a cost of $150,000 to oversee a DCHS restructuring and offer a turnaround plan. A loan of about $25 million may be needed to refinance the hospital's outstanding debt, Stupak has said.
The cost to hire Berkeley was $75,000, plus expenses, and an appraiser must soon be retained at a cost of $25,000 to $38,000 to confirm the value of DCHS's properties.
Apart from its unfunded pension liabilities, DCHS has an estimated $2.7 million in assets above its debts, Stupak told the county board last month.
A financial report reviewed Thursday showed a loss in operating income of $51,227 for DCHS in September. Year-to-date, the loss in operating income is $3.7 million and the net bottom line is a negative $4.2 million.
The hospital's financial situation has steadied -- after a negative $13 million bottom line in 2017 -- but a downward trend in business continues to keep it in the red.
Stupak, a U.S. congressman in Michigan's 1st District from 1993 to 2011, believes the hospital's problems can be resolved without bankruptcy or severe downsizing. He has suggested the U.S. Agriculture Department's Rural Development Agency is a potential source of funding for the short- and long-term borrowing needed to see the hospital through its current cash crisis.
In other action, the hospital board:
-- Heard a presentation from representatives of St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay, Wis., on a telemedicine program that would provide DCHS patients the neurological support and care necessary to more quickly diagnose and treat the symptoms of a stroke. In some cases, it reduces the need to transfer patients to other facilities, said Shana Kettunen, director of business development and care coordination at St. Vincent. The collaborative program may be in place by spring.
-- Learned that DCHS received a hospital safety rating of "B" from the Leapfrog Group for the 2018 fall grading period. "A 'B' grade from the Leapfrog Group is a very good score; however, we are disappointed that we only missed an 'A' grade by less than two-tenths of a point and it has ended our streak of six years in a row of receiving an 'A' grade," said Joe Rizzo, DCHS public relations manager. "We have a great staff that provides exceptional care and we are determined to return to the 'A' status for the upcoming grading period."
-- Received a patient activity report for September showing DCHS cared for 233 inpatients as well as 13,964 patients in the outpatient setting, including 1,111 in the emergency department. There were 11,050 patients in physician offices.
-- Heard that uncompensated care provided for the month totaled $763,911.