Reopening of hospital was highlight for May

Nathan Stutte, who’s Sheridan Memorial Hospital’s chief financial officer, said the month of May was highlighted by the reopening of services that had been closed since March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stutte gave his report during a meeting earlier this week of hospital trustees.

Stutte said the hospital continues seeing strong performance from the Welch Cancer Center. He said the cancer center was really unaffected by COVID -19, and the facility and the cancer program continue to grow.

He said the number of uninsured patients treated at Sheridan Memorial Hospital in May was less than 5 percent of patient volume. He said the hospital hasn’t seen numbers like that for several years.

To date, he said, the hospital has experienced sustained decreases in the percentages of uninsured patients for the past three months.

Stutte said Sheridan Memorial continues to see higher utilization from the Sheridan VA Medical Center, with VA patients making up 8 to 9 percent of the hospital’s volume in May, and in June, topped out so far at 10 percent of total patient volume.

Stutte said the hospital’s expenses were down by slightly less than 4 percent in May compared to May of 2019.