Massena hospital loses money in May

MASSENA — The month of May was not a good one for Massena Memorial Hospital.

The hospital lost $160,000 that month. Based on yearly averages, the hospital makes approximately $150,000 in a month, according to Chief Executive Officer Charles F. Fahd II.

"We just didn't have a good month. As you know, we're having some construction on the road out there and I truly believe it's affecting our admissions,' Mr. Fahd said. "The budget cuts have affected us, and we're starting to see a bit of that in Massena."

Road construction on Maple Street meant longer treks between the hospital and the village, which may have kept people from having tests or elective procedures done. In addition to shrinking state and local funding, the hospital now has to pay a tax to the state on its gross receipts.

The tax began this fiscal year, so hospitals have not yet had time to adjust. The facility's status as a municipal hospital means it cannot hold fundraisers beyond its scheduled annual drives.

The reports for June have not yet come out, so it is too early to tell if May was a blip on the screen or a trend.

May was the second month this year that the hospital saw a loss. It lost $100,000 in February, Mr. Fahd said.

"February was not a stellar month for us and May was very similar," he said.

Two shaky months this year are not stopping the hospital's expansion plans. Its board is working on drafting a plan for a $20 million expansion to the southeast part of the building, including more private patient rooms, clinic space and a kitchen and employee cafe. They are moving forward, but cautiously, according to Mr. Fahd.

The current goal is to file the project plan, including architectural drafts and funding sources, with the state Department of Health at the end of this year or the beginning of 2010. The state then will review the plan, which can take up to a year.

"We're just watching our spending carefully and trying to do the fiscally responsible thing," Mr. Fahd said. "I think that 2009 could be a rocky year. But by the end of December, I think we'll continue to show a profit, albeit smaller than what we're used to."