Salem Township Hospital President Alex Nazarian says they are seeking the light at the end of the tunnel on completion of the $217,000 emergency room entrance renovation project. He updated the hospital board on the project Wednesday afternoon announcing work should be completed around July 15th.
“It took longer. We were expecting it to be done a month and a half ago and we couldn’t get doors or any materials in.”
Nazarian says once the work is completed, they will have to wait for the Illinois Department of Public Health to approve the project. He notes fortunately the temporary ER entrance has worked well and has kept patients away from the noise and dust of the construction project.
The project is designed to improve patient flow so the waiting room is more socially distanced with additional emphasis on privacy.
Hospital Chief Financial Officer Carolyn Davies told the board the financial assistance program is working well. She reported they receive about 15 applications a month from those seeking help on their medical bills. Davies says in most cases the cost of the care is 100-percent written off. Once approved for financial assistance, the patient keeps that status for about a year until their income is reviewed again. Davies notes those receiving the help get the services they need, but are not abusing it. The board approved $54,479 in charity care at its meeting on Wednesday.
It was another good month financially for Salem Township Hospital. Nazarian says they finished with a net profit of over a million dollars for the second month in a row. He reports they are keeping their expenses down and benefiting from not having to provide expensive COVID-19 care that was included in the budgeting process for this year. Nazarian says they are seeing a slight rise in COVID patients at the hospital. It is about at the same level as in June a year ago.
He’s hoping the large spikes in the fall and winter last year don’t return this year.
