COVID-19 puts rural Colorado hospitals in a financial pinch
TRINIDAD, Colo. (KRDO) -- For rural or smaller hospitals in Colorado, the COVID-19 pandemic not only presents a major health concern but a financial one as well.
Earlier this month, Governor Jared Polis signed an executive order suspending 'all elective and non-essential surgeries and procedures and to preserve personal protective equipment and ventilators and respirators from March 23, 2020, to April 14, 2020.'
The only exception allowed is for smaller rural hospitals that are dependent on the funds from those procedures. However, the executive order 'strongly advises' those hospitals to adhere to the suspension.
Two small hospitals in southern Colorado, Mt. San Rafael Hospital in Trinidad and Spanish Peaks Regional Health Care Center in Walsenburg, are cooperating with the suspension. However, it's putting a heaving burden on their budgets.
"Not only have we seen elective surgery volume go down, but therapy, rehab services, imaging, even regular primary and specialty care clinic visits have gone down about 60%," said John Tucker, CEO of Mt. San Rafael Hospital.
According to Tucker, COVID-19's spread caused physicians at Mt. San Rafael to suspend elective surgeries prior to the Governor's order.
For Mt. San Rafael Hospital, it costs around $100,000 a day to operate.
"You can imagine when volumes go down by 60% there is some significant cost attached to that," said Tucker. "But we're committed to our employees' jobs and hours."
Tucker says if the executive order continues through to the end of April, the hospital will face an estimated cost of about $1.5 million.
"We are eager for this to be over, and we hope it's over by the end of April or we might have some more difficult decisions to make," said Tucker.
Tucker says he is confident the federal government will step in and provide aid financially.
Other hospitals in the area, like Spanish Peaks Regional Health Care Center in Walsenburg, say they are turning to philanthropists to help replace the lost funds from elective surgeries.
"Unfortunately, [philanthropist donations] don't always filter all the way down here where we are rural and frontier," said Debbie Channel with Spanish Peaks Regional Health Center. "Up in the Denver area and Colorado Springs, they have a lot of philanthropy dollars. We are kind of limited down here so we are begging for every dollar we can get so that we can buy equipment."
Channel tells KRDO that Spanish Peaks has been in a financial pinch before and will get through this one as well. At the end of the day, suspending these procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic is the right thing to do, no matter the cost.
"We can't afford to take any chances with anyone," said Channel. "Whether you are an outpatient, inpatient, or resident, we are going to do what we can to keep you protected and safe."
