ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 8, 1996 TAG: 9604080073
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
Gill Memorial Hospital in Roanoke got the best score on cost efficiency and productivity among Roanoke area hospitals in a new state report.
Gill, which is owned by Carilion Health System and mostly does outpatient surgery, got a score of 2. Only two other hospitals in the Southwest Region did better. Lee County Community Hospital in Pennington Gap scored 1.72, and Twin County Regional Hospital in Galax got a 1.78.
A score of 1 means "most favorable" and a score of 4 "least favorable" in the 1995 report released late last week by the Virginia Health Services Cost Review Council.
Three other Roanoke Valley and New River Valley facilities also ranked high were Alleghany Regional Hospital in Low Moor, 2.06, and Lewis-Gale Medical Center in Salem, 2.22, and Columbia Pulaski Community Hospital, also 2.22.
The rankings are based on 1993 data on 18 indicators that include charges, operational costs, staffing levels and profitability.
This is the second year for the report, which also covers all of the state's nursing homes. Eventually, the report is to include measures of quality that would help consumers choose health-care facilities. Its main value now is in establishing a trend of reporting health-care information to the public. It also makes it possible for hospital administrators to compare their facilities with others.
As the smallest facility in the region, Gill Memorial's experience might not be comparable to that of the other hospitals. Nor does its score mean that it did well in all categories. Gill was ranked efficient in 12 of the 18 measurements, but operating margin (net income as a percentage of expenses) was a minus 4.6 percent. In 1993, Gill, which is mostly outpatient-care, kept 11 beds prepared for use.
The area's largest facility, Roanoke Memorial Hospital with 454 beds, got a score of 2.89. Community Hospital of Roanoke Valley, with 240 beds, got 2.67. The two recently were merged as Carilion Medical Center, but intend to retain their individual names.
Roanoke Memorial's operating margin is 7.8 percent and Community's 3 percent compared with 13 percent at Lewis-Gale, their main competitor. Columbia Pulaski had a margin of 5.8 percent, compared with 11.8 percent at its sister hospital, Columbia Montgomery Regional, and 7.4 percent at their main competitor, Radford Community Hospital.
In the measure of financial strength based on a facility's ability to generate cash to cover long-term debt, Columbia Pulaski is best with a score of 30.5, followed by Columbia Montgomery, 28.4; Community Hospital, 27.6; Lewis-Gale, 20.6; and Franklin Memorial Hospital in Rocky Mount, 16. Roanoke Memorial scored 9.2.
Ambulatory surgical hospitals such as Lewis-Gale Clinic in Salem were not ranked, but statistics from them are included in the report. According to the report, the clinic had a net income against expenses margin of 5.1 percent.
Copies of the ``1995 Buyer's Guide to Efficient and Productive Hospitals and Nursing Homes" are available for $20 from the Virginia Health Services Cost Review Council, 805 E. Brad St., Richmond 23219, phone (804)786-6371. Supplies are limited.
EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY RANKING OF SELECTED HOSPITALS 1= ``most favorable'' score; 4= ``least favorable''
Alleghany Regional Hospital 2.06
Bedford County Memorial 3.22
Centra Health (Lynchburg) 2.50
Community Hospital of Roanoke Valley 2.67 Lewis-Gale Hospital Hospital 2.22
Memorial Hospital of Martinsville and Henry County 2.50
Columbia Montgomery Regional Hospital 2.44
Columbia Pulaski Community Hospital 2.22
Radford Community Hospital 2.44
Roanoke Memorial Hospital 2.89
Wythe County Community Hospital 2.33
- Source: Virginia Health Services Cost Review Council
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
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