Report to the Community Demonstrates Financials, Quality, Service
HILLSDALE, Mich.—Hillsdale Hospital released its 2022 Annual Report to the community on Thursday, showcasing results and successes from its most recent fiscal year, which ended June 30. The report covers the hospital’s five pillars of work—people, service, quality, finance and growth.
“While grappling with the healthcare industry changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic that have persisted long after its peak, our team continued to focus on providing excellent care to our community,” Jeremiah J. Hodshire, president and CEO, said.
The number of such instances of care delivered from July 2021 to June 2022 totaled in the hundreds of thousands. Hospital admissions included 402 patients in the psychiatric unit, 263 in its skilled nursing facility, and 1,499 for acute care. The hospital’s team delivered 354 babies and performed 2,042 surgeries. The hospital and its clinics provided 157,237 outpatient visits, as well as 19,840 in the emergency room.
The report also highlights the hospital’s trend of decreasing the number of patients transferred from both the emergency room and inpatient units to other facilities for a higher level of care.
“For the past three years, we have continued to increase the level of care we provide in order to minimize patient transfers,” Hodshire said. “We’ve brought more specialties, like urology and neurosurgery for example, to our hospital and community, while strictly reviewing provider-directed transfers to ensure medical necessity.”
Despite a 19.3 percent annual increase in total ER visits in its 2022 fiscal year, transfers out of the ER decreased by 7.3 percent. Compared to the hospital’s 2020 fiscal year, overall hospital transfers have decreased by 11.7 percent.
Hillsdale Hospital received national recognition from both the Chartis Center for Rural Health and the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) during the reporting period. In February, the Chartis Center named the hospital to its Top 100 Rural & Community Hospital list, placing Hillsdale Hospital in the top six percent of rural hospitals nationwide. In April, NRHA awarded Hodshire the Louis Gorin Award for Outstanding Achievement in Rural Health—its top honor recognizing individuals who have worked to make lasting contributions to rural health care beyond the local community, including having a demonstrated effect on rural health at state and national levels.
The results of the hospital’s patient experience surveys also demonstrated the high level of quality and care provided by its patient care teams.
“During this period, we saw an increase in patients rating our hospital as a 9 or 10 out of 10,” John Robertson, chief quality, information and technology officer, said. “On average, our hospital performed better than 80 percent of hospitals nationwide in overall care by nursing staff and physicians, as well as responsiveness of our hospital staff.”
The hospital’s economic impact totaled more than $38.7 million, including salaries and wages, employee benefits and capital investments. While many hospitals and large health systems have booked year-end financial losses in 2022, Hillsdale Hospital bucked that trend with a $363,156 operating income.
“Hospital finances have been under pressure across the country,” Mark Gross, vice president and chief financial officer, said. “Higher staffing costs, record inflation and the end of government-funded pandemic support have created a challenging environment. Though rural hospitals face even steeper financial challenges than large health systems, our focus on prudent financial management and a growth strategy to improve our bottom line has strengthened our hospital’s short- and long-term sustainability.”
Critical to the hospital’s growth in the past year were strategic partnerships and technology improvements. Among those include acquisition of an occupational medicine practice in Quincy now known as Hillsdale Hospital Work Health, the introduction of neurosurgery, and the opening of the Center for Advanced Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine. The hospital also launched inpatient pulmonology care and introduced a new mammography system designed to decreased discomfort and anxiety, including a patient-assisted compression device.
“On a daily basis, we are working to fulfill our mission to be a guardian of exceptional health services to our community,” Hodshire said. “We’re proud of our achievements as a team and we look forward to continuing to realize our vision of leading the nation in defining and advancing the role of rural health providers.”
To view the full annual report, visit www.hillsdalehospital.com/report.
