Operational and Financial Performance of Georgia’s Critical Access Hospitals

Authors

Linda G. Kimsey, Georgia Southern University, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public HealthFollow
Bettye A. Apenteng, Georgia Southern University, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public HealthFollow
William A. Mase, Georgia Southern University, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public HealthFollow
Samuel T. Opoku, Georgia Southern University, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public HealthFollow
Mark D. Hanna, Georgia Southern UniversityFollow
Kwabena G. Boakye, Georgia Southern UniversityFollow
Lisa Carhuff, Georgia State Office of Rural HealthFollow
Charles Owens, Georgia Southern University, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public HealthFollow
Angela Peden, Georgia Southern University, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public HealthFollow
Stuart H. Tedders, Georgia Southern University, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public HealthFollow
Patricia Whaley, Georgia State Office of Rural HealthFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2017

Publication Title

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

DOI

10.21633/jgpha.7.106

ISSN

2471-9773

Abstract

Background: Georgia’s Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) face increasingly complex threats to financial sustainability, as demonstrated by the disproportionally high number of closures in comparison to other states in the nation.

Methods: Financial performance measures (including profitability, revenue, liquidity, debt, utilization, and productivity), site visits, key personnel interviews, and a revenue cycle management assessment were used to assess the strategic landscape of CAHs in Georgia, analyze financial and operational performance, and provide recommendations.

Results: For CAHs in Georgia, financial and operating performance indicators, interviews, and assessments depict a challenging operating environment, but opportunities for improvement exist through implementation of a Lean Six Sigma program and improved benchmarking processes.

Conclusions: Georgia’s CAHs operate in a challenging environment, but operational improvement strategies (such as a Lean Six Sigma program) and benchmarking directed towards business processes, including revenue cycle management, provide opportunities for sustainability in the future.

Recommended Citation

Kimsey, Linda G., Bettye A. Apenteng, William A. Mase, Samuel T. Opoku, Mark D. Hanna, Kwabena G. Boakye, Lisa Carhuff, Charles Owens, Angela Peden, Stuart H. Tedders, Patricia Whaley. 2017. "Operational and Financial Performance of Georgia’s Critical Access Hospitals." Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association, 7 (1): 39-41: Georgia Southern University Press. doi: 10.21633/jgpha.7.106 source: https://www.gapha.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/39-Operational-and-financial.pdf
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/hpmb-facpubs/31

Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.