Chabert cuts mean longer patient wait

Mandatory budget cuts will result in fewer elective surgeries and longer lines for treatments at Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center.

However, according to hospital’s top administrator, a $3.7 million reduction announced last Tuesday, related to Medicaid funding losses to be implemented during the current fiscal year, is not as tragic as it could have been.

“When this federal budget cut broke, LSU’s portion was $122 million,” Chabert CEO Rhonda Green said. “Initially, I was asked to prepare a plan that would cut $32 million from this hospital. That would have left us with a very, very small emergency room [and] a few in-patient beds. Not much. So, compared to that, this is much easier.”

Chabert’s cuts will involve reducing the number of orthopedic surgeries performed, diminishing supply costs, eliminating most overtime and delaying capital improvement projects. None of the six emergency rooms nor emergency services will be closed, but longer lines are expected.

During the past year Chabert performed 3,571 surgeries, including 910 orthopedic services and 114 total joint replacements. Elective procedures totaled 3,293 cases and 278 surgeries were classified as emergency procedures.

Green said plans to expand an oncology department will have to be placed on hold because of the budget cuts. “Right now, we do chemotherapy in one room on the third floor,” she said. “It is not uncommon to have 30 to 40 patients in that room at a time. We were going to renovate that area and move patients, but we are not going to be able to afford that this year.”

The hospital head said she has relied on employees to help her in designing a manageable budget. “I met with the staff [and] explained everything to them,” Green said. “They know how to be misers and cut back on services. They actually come up with some of the best cost savings ideas that we have.”

“Cuts like these are always detrimental, but I commend the [hospital] administration for doing the best they can with these reductions,” state Sen. Norby Chabert said. “Once again, they have proven they can handle their business better than the LSU System can make these reductions with relatively little cuts to services and no firings.”

Chabert said he and fellow regional elected state officials intend to present legislation during the 2013 session that would place business operations and financial decision making in the hands of the Houma-based hospital, rather than the LSU Health Care System. Chabert’s suggested model would involve a public board or commissioners and executive director, similar to operations at Terrebonne General Medical Center.

The LSU Board of Supervisors made across-the-system cuts at its 10 hospitals to address a $300 million loss in annual funding.

Some within the LSU Health Care System have suggested entering into public/private partnerships to address reduced government assistance. It is an approach state Sen. Chabert and others have avoided in their attempt to assist public hospitals.

LSU Health Affairs Vice President Dr Fred Cerise expressed doubts that the system’s public/private suggestion to address budget cuts would compensate for financial losses. “Even when fully implemented, I would not expect this model to replace the full amount of [Medicaid financing] that is being cut from the LSU budget,” Cerise wrote in a memo to LSU Health System President William Jenkins.

“We are trying to protect patient care, protect the staff and protect the graduate medical program,” Green said. “We’re just going to buckle down and keep everything available for now.”

Green warned that any additional budget cuts would further change conditions. “We will wait and see what happens,” she said.