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 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 Hanna, Georgia Southern University, Parker College of BusinessFollow
Kwabena G. Boakye, Georgia Southern University, Parker College of BusinessFollow
Lisa Carhuff, Georgia Department of Community HealthFollow
Charles F. Owens, Georgia Southern University, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public HealthFollow
Angela Peden, Georgia Southern University - GA Public Health PBRNFollow
Stuart H. Tedders, Georgia Southern University, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public HealthFollow
Patricia WhaleyFollow

Operational and Financial Performance of Georgia's Critical Access Hospitals

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.

Key words: Critical Access Hospital, financial performance, Process Improvement, LEAN Six Sigma, rural hospital

First Page

39

Last Page

41

Creative Commons License

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

Recommended Citation

Kimsey, Linda G.; Apenteng, Bettye A.; Mase, William; Opoku, Samuel T.; Hanna, Mark; Boakye, Kwabena G.; Carhuff, Lisa; Owens, Charles F.; Peden, Angela; Tedders, Stuart H.; and Whaley, Patricia (2017) "Operational and Financial Performance of Georgia's Critical Access Hospitals," Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association: Vol. 7: No. 1, Article 6.
DOI: 10.21633/jgpha.7.106
Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/jgpha/vol7/iss1/6