Pay Increase Approved for Stephens Co. Hospital Employees

Stephens County Hospital employees will see an increase early next year in their pay.

Monday, the Hospital Authority unanimously approved a pay increase plan for the hospital to take effect in this current fiscal year, which started for the hospital back on October 1.

Hospital Administrator Ed Gambrell says that the budget for this just started fiscal year started with a projected positive bottom line of about $845,000.

He says pay increases were not included in the budget originally while it was determined how it would be done.

Gambrell said the hospital now has that plan in place and adds it is something that needs to be done.

“Our employees have had only a 1.5 pay increase total since early 2011 and actually had a 5 percent decrease this past December, so they have actually had a net pay decrease,” said Gambrell. “We have improved our financial position, as we have been working hard on for several years, so the Authority did approve a pay increase for employees this current fiscal year. It will be rolled out some in January and some in March.”

Gambrell did say, however, that these increases will not fully restore the cuts that were made last December.

“It will not fully restore (the cuts) by a long shot, but at least it is a step in the right direction for everybody,” said Gambrell.

Gambrell said the increase will cost about $400,000, taking the projected positive bottom line for the hospital’s just started fiscal year down to $445,000.

As for the fiscal year that just ended on September 30, Gambrell said it is too soon to tell what the hospital’s final bottom line for that year will be.

“Right now, we are showing a loss on the bottom line for the year of around, I believe, $650,000,” said Gambrell. “But, there is a lot to be done. There are audit adjustments. We feel that the auditors are going to book at least some of the money we expect to receive from Medicare in the fiscal year that just ended, but we are not sure how much they are going to want to book so we did not touch that. After the audit, we still expect to be around break even or a little (in the) positive (for the fiscal year that just ended).”

Gambrell said there is no word on when Stephens County Hospital may receive the money it expects to from Medicare.

Last year, Stephens County Hospital reported that it had around $800,000 in Medicare funds withheld over a dispute that stems from Medicare paperwork filed by the hospital back in Fiscal Year 2009.

Gambrell has said that the hospital expects to eventually receive that income once the matter is resolved.

Meanwhile, Stephens County Hospital did report that it showed a small positive bottom line for the month of September.