And private hospitals often run into their own problems when starting out (opening up a prison hospital is even more expensive and wrought with potential problems because of its patient population and all of the additional resources required for that).
Opening North County’s newest and largest hospital has put Palomar Health in the red, according to the public health care district’s latest financial report.
Robert Hemker, Palomar’s chief financial officer, said the organization has known for a long time that opening the $956 million edifice on Citracado Parkway in west Escondido would mean spending from the district’s reserves, but he said expected growth in revenue has not come as quickly as expected.
Palomar’s top money manager said he hasn’t started sweating yet but added that the hospital system’s fiscal third quarter, which runs from January through March, is critical in terms of finding budget equilibrium.
“We’re closely monitoring the situation. I’m not going to use the word ‘concerned,’” Hemker said.
Palomar’s latest finance report, which covers July through October, showed that the three-hospital system had a $6 million loss for the first four months of the fiscal year, rather than the $9 million profit that had been budgeted. That created a $15.4 million budget gap once depreciation expense was removed.
