December 12, 2013 • The Whidbey Examiner
Hospital software cause bill struggles By Nathan Whalen Staff Reporter
Hangups in a new electronic records system caused delays in billings and reduced the amount of cash available at Whidbey General Hospital. Hospital officials said they are expecting to spend more than $7.5 million implementing an electronic records system provided by Meditech that originally went online in May. When the new system went live, staff had to deal with an abnormally slow billing process, hospital spokeswoman Trish Rose said in an email. “As issues were identified, they were fixed, but months passes as we worked through system and process bottlenecks and cash on-hand declined to critical levels while our accounts receivable climbed,” Rose said. Whidbey General Hospital hadn’t had an electronic records system prior to Meditech. Hospital leaders had to purchase a medical system as a requirement of the Affordable Patient Care Act. If the hospital didn’t install such a system, then it would face a $50,000 penalty in 2015 plus a $550,000 reduction of Medicare/ Medicaid reimbursements. The glitch caused by the new system caused delays in the bills patients receive; however no accounts were sent to collection and hospital officials gave a grace period and extended pay-
ment plans, public relations liaison Keith Mack said in an email. Patient care wasn’t affected. Rose said that once billing process started working, coders and billers started sending out millions of dollars worth of bills in a few weeks. “They did an outstanding job and continue to work the backlog of charges and bills,” Rose said. She said cash flow into the hospital has been restored, but it will take months to recover. During this time, administrators will be as conservative as possible in regards to overtime, supplies, staffing, travel and education. The billing snafu caused cash problems for the hospital. Mack said that at the lowest point, the hospital had two-and-a-half days worth of cash on hand. The Whidbey General Hospital board in the fall approved a $4 million line of credit and, of that amount, the hospital drew $2 million. The number of days worth of cash increased to 12.2 days and cash receipts are continuing to increase. Mack said the hospital will pay back the line of credit in the next four months. In addition to the work getting the hospital’s books in order, Rose said staff has to prepare for another update that will take place in March. That needs to be done in order to comply with the Affordable Care Act.
Some big bulbs can make a big splash of color in winter toni grove sowin ’n’ the trowel
I love this time of year: the colorful decorations and fragrant evergreen swags, the wreaths and holly, the little lights twinkling like tiny stars on trees and in windows, and the festive joviality that spurs even the most circumspect of us to hang mistletoe above our heads and wait for the next best thing to Gary Cooper to blow into town. There’s something about it all that remains for me both joyful and cheery, something that says “home” and all the safety and comfort that word implies. Maybe the Holiday Season means something else entirely for you, something that has nothing to do with the traditions of any culture
or any particular religion. Perhaps it’s just a peaceful time to take stock, or hunker down with seed catalogues and wait for the forsythia to eventually bloom. Whatever your persuasion, creed, viewpoint, or doctrine, you’re still a gardener and you shouldn’t miss a chance to enjoy one of the most spectacular flowers to be found outside of a hothouse this time of year – the amaryllis. Every year around this time, department stores push these enormous bulbs with their equally enormous lily-like blooms. They often come in a box that includes a pot and some potting mix, and all one needs to do is add water and wait four to six weeks for the magic to happen. They like to be rootbound and want a pot that’s just a few inches wider than the bulb, which makes it convenient to fit everything in the box them come in. When you plant it, leave the top third of the bulb above the soil, water it well
and then don’t water it again until the soil dries out. They do get terribly top heavy, so put a stake in the pot to eventually tie the stem to. The pots they normally come with are usually plastic and not very heavy, so I’d suggest you put yours in a heavier pot from the getgo, or place the plastic pot inside a heavier pot to keep it upright. You’ll be glad you did because they only fall over when you’re not there to catch them. Just make sure you’ve got good drainage. If properly cared for, they’re well worth the price and for very little effort. Even though these bulbs, which have been cultivated primarily for use as indoor ornamentals in the northern hemisphere, are in the Amaryllidaceae plant family, they’re in the genus Hip-
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peastrum and originated in South America. Bulbs in the Amaryllis genus are similar, can be grown year round outdoors in USDA Zone 8, have a solid stem versus the hollow stem of Hippeastrum, and hail from South Africa. Usually, if someone is talking about amaryllis in the winter time, they’re talking about Hippeastrum. If they’re talking about belladonna lily or naked ladies in the summer time, they’re taking about Amaryllis belladonna. Which isn’t a lily and doesn’t have anything to do with Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade). Confused yet? I know I am. After that explanation, I hope you have some eggnog on hand to help clear your head – or make it pleasantly more fuzzy.
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