Open Forum: ‘A bad year . . .’
Posted: January 12, 2013
I’m writing in reference to The Star’s story on Dec. 11, 2012, “It Was A Bad Year Last Year.” Maybe so for Valley Health System overall, which is understandable considering the 17 counties it serves with a population base of approximately 1.1 million individuals. But it’s not such a dark cloud for the Winchester Medical Center; actually WMC continues to do very, very well financially.
WMC recorded a $62,029,246 profit in 2011, and has tallied an 11-year total of $480.65 million since 2000. Here are the numbers:
2000 — $11,917,127.
2001 — $ 4,262,944.
2002 — $25,868,766.
2003 — $35,113,921.
2004 — $46,711,931.
2005 — $54,346,679.
2006 — $57,422,789.
2007 — $66,617,961.
2008 — $ 9,500,911.
2009 — $53,757,390.
2010 — $53,104,420.
2011 — $62,029,246.
Again, that total: $480.65 million.
Ever wonder what the differences are between a “for-profit” and a “not-for-proft” hospital? Just take a look at the differences in taxes paid and profits made for Lewis-Gale Medical Center in Salem and WMC.
For 2010, here are a couple of highlights of the comparison: Lewis-Gale paid $27,437,225 in taxes while WMC paid just $110,699. Lewis-Gale recorded a profit of $34.1 million as opposed to WMC’s $53.1 million.
And, for 2011: Lewis-Gale paid $24.7 million in taxes while WMC paid just $70,253. Lewis-Gale recorded a profit of $29.3 million vs. WMC’s $62.029 million.
Please note: Lewis-Gale Medical Center has charity care and bad debt, not to mention Medicaid and Medicare shortfalls, as well as making investments within the community it serves.
For a side-by-side comparison, please review this link: http://the pibbstespub.blogspot.com/2009/11/ winchester-medical-center-lewis-gale.html.
And review the latest financial records for yourself. For Lewis-Gale: http://vhi.org/Financial% C2%A0LewisGale%20Medical%20Center. html?fr=fin&?=h6544/.
For WMC: http://vhi.org/Financial% C2%A0Valley%20Health%20Winchester% 20Medical%20Ceter.html?fr=fin&?=h1934/.
Jeff Milburn is a resident of Winchester.