Independent hospitals can survive, but they face myriad challenges, many associated with the economies of scale.
Kaiser Health News reports on one facility—a 26-bed hospital in Surprise Valley, California—that is $4 million in debt—and in desperate need of outside help. The community may have found reason for hope, in the form of a 34-year-old former bodybuilder named Beau Gertz. He’s proposing a plan to use telemedicine to help boost revenue.
“If you do it correctly, there is a nice profit margin,” he said in an interview with Kaiser Health News, “There [are] extra visits you can get from telemedicine but … it has to be billed correctly, and it can’t be abused.”
Gertz says he will cover the seven-figure debt, though locals have heard a similar pitch before. Last year, the hospital board brought in an outside management company that “abandoned” the facility after just a few months.
Despite the skepticism, the 1,500 residents will vote Tuesday, June 5, whether to allow Gertz to buy the public hospital.
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Nicholas joined TriMed in 2016 as the managing editor of the Chicago office. After receiving his master’s from Roosevelt University, he worked in various writing/editing roles for magazines ranging in topic from billiards to metallurgy. Currently on Chicago’s north side, Nicholas keeps busy by running, reading and talking to his two cats.