Hospitals are making headlines.

Steward Health Care with hospitals in nearby Massachusetts is bankrupt and CEO Dr. Ralph De La Torre who is being held in criminal and civil contempt by the US Senate has resigned; Providence-based Lifespan recently laid off 20% of its executive staff and members of South County Health took a vote of no confidence in CEO Aaron Robinson saying his management style “fosters division.”

It’s been quiet, however, at Care New England and Kent Hospital, the second largest hospital in the state. Is that a sign that everything is rosy at Kent?

Kent president Dr. Paari Gopalakrishnan won’t go that far although in a half hour interview Monday he pointed to a lot of positive developments since shedding the title of interim president and taking firm hold of the tiller in May 2022. Serendipitously the call was on new year’s eve, that’s Sept. 30 the day before the commencement of CNE’s new fiscal year. Hence, Gopalakrishnan had a handle on how CNE and Kent would finish the year. He expects CNE to hit a reserve of 1% margin of operating costs or a gain of $12 million. Kent will post an improved balance sheet but shy of that 1% margin of operations.  “We’re close to breaking even,” he said. In a follow up he said hopes to hit a 1% margin of operating costs this year.

It’s a far cry from May 2022 when Gopalakrishnan spent a half hour highlighting plans to set the hospital on an even keel over coffee at Panera Bread. At that time, he said the hospital was losing between $1 million and $3 million a month.

‘Growth in all areas’

Since then Gopalakrishnan said the hospital has seen “growth in all areas.” He ticked off some of the numbers: a 7% increase in hospital discharges; an 18% growth in rehabilitation services and a 9% increase in out patient radiology services.

Gopalakrishnan was especially proud of the reduction on wait times for out patient services. Scheduling CAT scans for example, he said, could take upwards of three weeks to fulfill. Now with additional equipment and personnel those waits have been cut by half if not more. He cited the change as an example of “investing in the right growth strategy.” Another example, he cited, is the use of robotic surgery. The hospital has three robots.

Asked about “travelers” – traveling nurses who are hired on a per diem in order to meet hospital staffing needs – Gopalakrishnan said the need has been dramatically reduced since 2022 when he estimated the hospital had 60 travelers. The expense of travelers were substantial during the pandemic. Although the rates have come down, they are still high and the hospital targeted traveler costs as a source for out of control expenditures. Additionally, changes in staffing and procedures plus more staff have enabled the hospital to cut travelers to 18 to 21.

Hospital at home

Gopalakrishnan has also worked to reduce in-hospital stays, which are costly and use beds that could be used for emergency cases and admissions, thereby easing pressure on the emergency department and improving rapid service.

“When the emergency department is backed up, there is no real estate (open beds) in the hospital,” he said.

Gopalakrishnan said 4% of those discharged from Kent used the Hospital at Home program initiated under his direction. Under the program patients deemed eligible for the program are cared for at home and receive scheduled medical care and physician visits.

The “no diversion” rule enacted earlier this year statewide has also impacted the hospital. Prior to the rule, hospitals could divert emergency vehicles to other hospitals on the basis they were too busy.

“We can’t close the door to the emergency room,” he said.  No diversion has stressed the importance of “working as a team” while providing more immediate hospital care.

It’s not to say, Kent isn’t faced with challenges. Gopalakrishnan points to reimbursement rates as making it difficult to retain and attract physicians as well as impacting the hospital’s financial viability. As he puts it, “there’s no finish line here.”

Gopalakrishnan is grateful for the commitment and cooperation he’s received. He said the hospital is in a “different place” than where it was two years ago. He is optimistic and said he remains “laser focused” on efficiencies and strategic growth.

But is it a rosy picture?

“It’s rosy compared to where to where we were three years ago.”