Financial difficulties are calling for major changes
CHEBOYGAN, MI -- A major Northern Michigan employer is in trouble and is looking at some major changes to fix its financial woes.
Cheboygan Memorial Hospital is and has been in the red for several years now, but to keep its doors open next year, major changes need to be made, and that could mean staff and departmental changes.
Gary Voisin's history with Cheboygan Memorial Hospital goes back to when he helped build it. Now, he's here twice a week for physical therapy.
“This means everything to me, yes, absolutely, it's necessary that we maintain and keep our facility here in Cheboygan," says Voisin.
But according to the hospital's vice president of public relations Michael Grisdale, for the hospital to stay open, things are going to have to change.
"Increasing costs for us, declining reimbursements, the local economy; it's just making it difficult for us to keep doing the things we do," says Grisdale.
Last year, the hospital lost more than $4-million, partly due to the increase in Medicaid patients and shorter hospital stays. Medicaid only reimburses 10 cents to the dollar.
To try to minimize the losses, the hospital applied for and received a “Critical Access Designation,” which helped secure about $700,000. It has also looked for affiliations and purchase agreements, but so far that has been unsuccessful.
"Immediately, we need to get ourselves in a position that we can have long-term sustainability within our organization," says Grisdale.
And that likely means job loss for some of its 450 employees and maybe more.
As a cost-saving measure, last year, the hospital put an end to the OB Unit, saying they would no longer deliver babies in Cheboygan. And this year, because of the financial pressure that continues, more services could be lost.
“Will there be staffing changes? Probably. Will there be a way services are delivered, will that look different? Probably. Right now, we don't have the specific detail, specific plans have not been worked out, but change is going to happen," says Grisdale.
The hospital says the financial recovery plan will take a look at every department and every thing and they hope to have an outline for the future done in the next couple of months.
