The Peru Gazette

PLATTSBURGH, NY (03/09/2021) — Faced with a $6.5 million loss in the first four months of fiscal year (FY) 2021 as a result of fewer patient visits in addition to nearly a decade of financial instability, the University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) is taking a number of steps to adapt to the lower volumes as a result of COVID-19 while charting a new path forward. 

CVPH President Michelle LeBeau today announced plans to address this ongoing fiscal crisis through a combination of reduced hours, layoffs and retirements in addition to the consolidation of hospital facilities and a tighter focus on its scope of service. Vacant positions not directly related to patient care will also be eliminated. These measures will result in the reduction of 60 full-time equivalents (FTEs) while reducing overhead expenses. 

“Our goal is to find a balance between the services we provide, the size of our organization and the needs of our patients and community,” she said. 

Those efforts, in addition to staff reductions, include combining Rehabilitation Services, which is currently located in two facilities, one at Tom Miller Road and the other on New York Road, to CVPH’s main campus. Opportunities to consolidate medical practices are also being explored and details will be shared in the next couple of weeks. “These moves will provide our patients with added convenience while reducing our organization’s footprint and overhead,” LeBeau explained. 

FastTrack, a service that was seeing an average of 6 to 8 patients a day, has been closed and staff have filled vacant positions elsewhere in the hospital. Patients who come to the Emergency Department (ED) in need of non-emergent care, are being cared for in the main ED. 

“These measures are a continuation of work we’ve been doing – before COVID – to stabilize our financial situation for the long term. The pandemic has accelerated the need to act so we can continue to provide the care our loved ones and neighbors depend on,” LeBeau said. 

A Decade of Financial Struggles 

CVPH was immersed in efforts to reduce spending and increase revenue to stabilize its financial picture when the pandemic struck New York State in early March of 2020. Since that time, elective procedures have resumed but patient volumes have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels as folks delay care. There were 8,771 fewer Emergency Department visits in FY2020 than in FY2019. There was also a 20,150 drop in Outpatient Visits for the same time period (see more at UVMHealth.org/CVPHToday). 

“For the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, we saw fewer patients in almost every outpatient service and there were fewer physician visits as well. Our revenue from inpatient services was down too. Patients were here longer and were sicker,” explained Chief Financial Officer Christopher Hickey. A need for traveling nurses and premium pay also contributed to the financial shortfall, he explained. “Staff were out of work either due to exposure, illness or on family leave, caring for loved ones.” 

“Hospitals all across the country are experiencing similar challenges as COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc,” said Hickey. In New York State, COVID-19 is devastating an already shaky health care system, according to the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS). The organization reports that in a little over year (March 2020 to April 2021), New York’s hospitals will suffer $20 to $25 billion in losses and new expenses as a result of their pandemic response. Regionally, The University of Vermont Health Network announced yesterday a $21.3 million loss to date in the current fiscal year as a result of its COVID response. 

CVPH, however, has struggled financially for the past decade, ending the 2020 fiscal year with a $7.5 million operating deficit despite $31 million in federal aid intended to mitigate the financial impacts of the pandemic. In 2019 and 2018, the hospital lost $6.9 million and $8.7 million, respectively. 

LeBeau added “It’s clear that even if volumes return to pre-pandemic levels – and there is no guarantee they will – our ongoing financial woes will remain. We need to work differently and embrace a new way forward.” 

Pointing out that CVPH today is a much different organization than it was 75, 25 and even 5 years ago, LeBeau said the organization has adapted over the years to the changes in health care while continuing to provide excellent care. “We have always evolved to meet the needs of this community and just as before, this next generation of CVPH will rest on this team’s unwavering commitment to our patients and each other,” she said. 

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About Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital The University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) is a private, not-for profit hospital in Plattsburgh, NY. Established in 1967 with the merger of Champlain Valley and Physicians Hospitals, CVPH joined Fletcher Allen Partners in 2012, which in 2014 became The University of Vermont Health Network. Together with its partner hospitals, the UVM Medical Group and a home health agency, CVPH provides high quality, cost effective care, close to home. Services include an award winning cardiac services program, accredited cancer center, freestanding ambulatory surgery center, comprehensive rehabilitation services and a 24 hour physician-staffed Emergency Department. Governed by a 15-member Board of Directors, CVPH is accredited by the Joint Commission and licensed by New York State and Medicare/Medicaid Approved. Learn more at UVMHealth.org/CVPH or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. 

About The University of Vermont Health Network 

The University of Vermont Health Network is an integrated system serving the residents of Vermont and northern New York with a shared mission: working together, we improve people’s lives. The partners are: 

 The University of Vermont Medical Center 

 The University of Vermont Health Network Medical Group 

 The University of Vermont Health Network – Alice Hyde Medical Center 

 The University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center 

 The University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital 

 The University of Vermont Health Network – Elizabethtown Community Hospital 

 The University of Vermont Health Network – Porter Medical Center 

 The University of Vermont Health Network – Home Health & Hospice 

Our 4,000 health care professionals are driven to provide high-quality, cost-efficient care as close to home as possible. Strengthened by our academic connection to the University of Vermont, each of our affiliates remains committed to its local community by providing compassionate, personal care shaped by the latest medical advances and delivered by highly skilled experts.