BRATTLEBORO — Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is hiring two outside advisers to help address an operating budget shortfall and related questions from state regulators.
The not-for-profit will work with Ovation Healthcare, a national support organization, and David Sanville, a former chief financial officer at Windsor’s Mt. Ascutney Hospital, according to a social media announcement.
“Let me say this very clearly: Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is not closing,” acting co-CEO Elizabeth McLarney, an orthopaedic surgeon, said in a Facebook video posted Friday.
“We are fully engaged,” added fellow leader Tony Blofson, a primary care physician, “in ensuring that BMH remains a strong, independent and trusted part of this community.”
Administrators are still calculating the exact shortfall in a $119 million annual budget that ended Sept. 30. They’ve usually offered updates through internal emails to the hospital’s more than 500 staffers and 150 community “corporator” supporters. To reach more people, McLarney and Blofson — appointed interim leaders after this month’s unexplained leave of absence of CEO Christopher Dougherty — publicized their latest message on Facebook.
In a minute-long video, the two read a shared statement that aimed to reassure the 45,000 residents in the hospital’s service area.
“For generations, BMH has been a cornerstone of care in this region,” Blofson said. “We’re going to keep it that way by adapting and innovating, doing whatever it takes to continue to provide you with the highest quality care.”
“We’re in this with you, and we are here to stay,” McLarney added. “Thank you for your trust, support and patience.”
Administrators at the 61-bed hospital, one of Brattleboro’s three largest employers, have blamed their fiscal problems on everything from too many unpaid patient bills to their own staff’s rising health insurance costs. In response, they have launched a hiring freeze and let go of six administrators.
But regulators at Vermont’s Green Mountain Care Board have questioned the budget numbers themselves, noting in an Oct. 1 ruling that “missing, incomplete and inaccurate information makes it challenging to understand BMH’s current financial position.”
The board ordered the hospital to revise its budget or risk becoming the first Vermont health care facility to receive state intervention under a new law.
In a written update to VTDigger, regulators noted “it is our understanding that BMH is working diligently to address concerns” and the board would review the new numbers once received.
Hospital leaders hope the outside advisers will help. On its website, Ovation Healthcare says it has worked with more than 375 hospitals and health systems in 47 states, including the nearby Springfield Hospital, a 25-bed facility that had to reorganize its finances through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process in 2019 and 2020.
“Springfield Hospital,” the Ovation site says, “went from one day’s cash on hand and millions owed to vendors and banks to a lower total debt, improved cash flow and positive days cash.”
Five years later, the Green Mountain Care Board noted in a recent ruling that “Springfield is an efficient hospital that can deliver care at lower-than-average cost.” That said, regulators added, “we are concerned about Springfield’s financial health” because of smaller yet continued negative operating margins in the past three fiscal years.
