Hospital gets clean bill of health

RITZVILLE – East Adams Rural Healthcare has received a clean bill of financial health.

Representatives from certified public accounting firm Dingus, Zarecor and Associates PLLC, presented the 2020 financial audit report to the East Adams Rural Healthcare directors Feb. 23.

Senior manager and CPA Joe Lodge reported an unmodified “clean opinion” of the hospital’s financial statements, and noted that financial disclosures were neutral, consistent and fair.

There were no non-compliance issues; however, auditors identified two material weaknesses.

The weaknesses were described as account reconciliation and use of manual journal entries. Management’s response is for the chief financial officer to reconcile all balance sheet accounts on a monthly basis, and to ensure manual journal entries are approved by a properly trained individual other than the person preparing the manual journal entry.

Shaun Johnson, CPA and owner of the firm, presented operating income/loss figures for the audit period, and noted the hospital district received significant funding in the form of government pay check protection loans and other pandemic related grants.

Johnson also noted the hospital district benefits from a tax-support base.

Johnson briefly discussed the higher-than-average number of days needed for the district to collect on net patient accounts receivable.

For 2019, the average collection period was 143 days. In 2020, the period dropped to 134 days. According to Johnson, average collection times for all rural hospitals are 63 days, and for all Washington hospitals it is 61 days.

In a January 2022 financial overview, dated February 16, Chief Financial Officer Kimberly Polanco reported time to collect net patient accounts receivable were 77 days.

East Adams Health Care CEO Corey Fedie reported the last several weeks at the hospital have been “a wild ride,” as COVID continued to present operational issues.

Staff “took great care of people” but added the hospital had to “cancel some services.” He said, adding there had been a recent increase in outpatient volumes, which “helps support the business and take care of the community.”

Fedie concluded saying “morale is great. There is a lot of positivity in the organization.