KANSAS CITY, Kan. (May 12, 2009) – In reports issued at the University of Kansas Hospital Authority Board meeting, officials announced the hospital continues to experience a significant growth in patient volume. At the same time, hospital leadership noted employee turnover is at record lows and a comprehensive effort on emergency room diversion has resulted in dramatic improvement.
Inpatient volume at The University of Kansas Hospital is up more than 7 percent for the first nine months of the fiscal year compared to a year ago. Outpatient volume is up more than 11 percent over the same nine-month period last year.
The increases led to a $12.9 million net income for the first three quarters of the year, funds that will be reinvested in hospital programs. The hospital receives no state appropriations or local tax funds.
"The third quarter year-to-date result is more remarkable when you consider the hospital’s investments dropped 8 percent because of the market downturn this year. Still, we have invested more than $43 million in capital expenditures during this same period," said Scott Glasrud, executive vice president and chief financial officer of The University of Kansas Hospital.
Glasrud noted the capital investments in Fiscal year 2009 included two new inpatient units; a GI endoscopy suite; a new blood and marrow transplant care area; Novalis Tx™ image-guided radiosurgery; and continued implementation of the hospital's electronic medical record system.
Glasrud also reported to the board the hospital had maintained its "A" rating with a stable outlook on its revenue bonds. Fitch Ratings cited the hospital's strong operating results, its patient volume, and the close affiliation with the University of Kansas Medical Center and The University of Kansas Physicians.
In the operations report, the Authority Board heard patient satisfaction levels are at their highest points of the year, in the top 96th percentile in the third quarter when compared to all hospitals in the Press Ganey database.
Employee turnover has dropped below13 percent, the lowest in the history of the Hospital Authority. When the Authority was created in 1998, turnover was at 33 percent.
The hospital also reported success in avoiding diversion hours. Diversion is when, for a variety of reasons, the hospital closes its emergency department to ambulances. Today, the hospital reported that diversion hours for April were only 2.5 hours, the lowest level in 4 years.
"We didn't drop this problem in the lap of the emergency department. We looked at the issue from a hospitalwide perspective. We began better daily bed planning, improved other functions and expanded space and staff in the emergency department. By involving the physicians, nurses and hospital administrators together, we saw exceptional results in a short period of time," said Tammy Peterman, executive vice president, chief operating officer and chief nursing officer of The University of Kansas Hospital.
The University of Kansas Hospital is the region's premier academic medical center, providing a full range of care. The hospital is affiliated with the University of Kansas Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health, and their various leading edge research projects. The constantly growing facility contains 574 staffed beds and serves more than 21,000 inpatients annually. The University of Kansas Hospital comprehensive heart program is ranked 34th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report and is housed in the state of the art Center for Advanced Heart Care. The cancer program is part of The University of Kansas Cancer Center, based in the region’s largest outpatient cancer facility, the Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Care Pavilion, located in Westwood, Kansas, 1 ½ miles from the main hospital. The hospital has received Magnet nursing designation, reflecting the quality of care throughout the hospital, an honor awarded to only 3.5 percent of the hospitals nationwide. The hospital also houses the region's only burn center and the area's only nationally accredited Level I Trauma Center.