On a day when the Indiana Regional Medical Center had to furlough 200 employees, the hospital received some very good news…a $10 million low-interest PENNVEST loan announced by Senator Joe Pittman. Pittman, who is a member of PENNVEST’s Board of Directors, also announced a $12 million loan to Armstrong County Memorial Hospital.
The funding from the Hospital Emergency Loan Program (HELP) is part of $324 million for 31 hospitals across the state. But Pittman stresses that it’s only short-term relief that will help IRMC and ACMH get through the immediate crisis. He called it a “…lifeline that does not ease the long-term fiscal distress of those institutions. Until they can resume standard operations,” he said, “they will continue to be in a dire situation where tough choices need to be made in order for them to survive as community hospitals.”
IRMC President and CEO Steve Wolfe said yesterday that there have been “significant declines in both the volume of outpatient and inpatient regular hospital and emergency room visits as a direct result of the pandemic.”
IRMC has also withdrawn its “Last, Best, and Final Offer” to its nurses union, the IRNA-PSEA, as it evaluates the recovery of patient volume and the extent of government relief funding. The hospital has experienced a 48 percent decrease in admission, a 59 percent decrease in outpatient testing, and a 58 percent decrease in surgeries since the pandemic began.
With the state beginning to ease restrictions on hospital care, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bruce Bush says it’s important that people not bypass their regular healthcare. He says, “IRMC has followed CDC and PA Department of Health guidelines to the letter, and we are still ready and prepared to serve the community – no matter what your healthcare needs might be.”
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