Business & Tech

Lawrence & Memorial Reports Another Successful Year

New London hospital has finished each year in the black since 1994

Lawrence & Memorial Hospital posted another successful year in 2011, finishing with a healthy operating margin.

At the annual meeting of the Lawrence & Memorial Corporation on Wednesday, financial statistics showed that the hospital had about a $12.3 million net operating gain.

The hospital had $336,538,000 in revenue, of which $325,447,000 came from services to patients, and paid $324,247,000 in expenses. These expenses included $191,453,000 in salaries and benefits, $99,026,000 in supplies or affiliated charges, $19,412,000 in depreciation and interest, and $14,356,000 in bad debts.

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“We can all take large satisfaction at the direction and trajectory of Lawrence & Memorial Hospital at the end of its first century,” said Ulysses B. Hammond, chairman of the hospital’s board of directors.

Lou Inzana, chief financial and support services officer at the hospital, said the Lawrence & Memorial remains consistent with a 3.7 percent operating margin. Inzana said the hospital had a , the highest in the state for 2010 according to the Office of Health Care Access.

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"It was another strong financial performance," he said.

The expenses included $26.2 million in capital purchases, said Inzana. Of this, $9.8 million went toward routine equipment purchases, $5 million to energy efficiency initiatives, $4.5 million to information technology, $4 million for new linear accelerators for cancer treatment, $1.8 million for growth initiatives, and $1.1 million for automating pharmacy processes.

Bruce Cummings, president and CEO of the hospital, said it was a successful year for new features and recognitions at the hospital and its satellite facilities as well. The Lawrence & Memorial Sleep Center in Groton received national accreditation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, while Press Ganey recognized the Pequot Health Center in that city as having the most improved patient satisfaction.

Hammond said Lawrence & Memorial opened a new satellite facility, the Wound and Hyperbaric Center in Waterford, in October. Waterford will also be the site of a state-of-the-art cancer center on Boston Post Road, with plans to start construction in 2012 and open in 2013.

Hammond said the hospital has used careful planning to sustain growth and has finished each year with a profitable operating margin since 1994. He noted how Westerly Hospital has due to a difficult financial situation, leading to a halt in discussions on a possible partnership between the two organizations.

Hammond said Lawrence & Memorial could still find a way partner with Westerly Hospital in order to help ensure continued care for the people in that region, but said that the focus would remain on the well-being of the patients served by Lawrence & Memorial.

“We have not ruled out a relationship with Westerly…However, we are keenly aware of the risks of such a partnership,” said Hammond.


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