An aerial view from 2013 shows the Butler Memorial Hospital campus. Hospital administration reports that the hospital's biggest challenge is smaller reimbursements from Medicare as the population grows older and drops private insurance in favor of federal coverage.

An aging population is causing some difficulties for Butler Health System, but its financial metrics stayed strong in 2018, an annual report showed.

During the hospital system's annual public meeting Thursday night, Ken DeFurio, president and CEO, said the biggest challenge the hospital system faces is shrinking Medicare reimbursement revenues. The hospital makes less money from Medicare reimbursements, he said, than it typically does from private health insurance.

“We get paid less for doing the same procedure,” DeFurio said.

As the population of Butler County ages, more people are retiring and transitioning from company-provided health insurance to the federal program, he said.

“It's not the best equation in the world when you're trying to make sure you're putting a couple dollars to the bottom line each year,” DeFurio said.

However, DeFurio's overall diagnosis of BHS's financial health was strong.

Revenues total $369 million in fiscal 2018, which ended June 30. Expenditures totaled $356 million, leaving $12 million for reinvesting. Patient revenue is at an all-time high, he said.

Hospital admissions fell slightly in fiscal 2018 from the previous year, but have grown by 11 percent in the last decade.

In fiscal 2018, BHS employed 2,442 people.

He had no major construction plans, but DeFurio did outline a capital spending project that's soon to begin and will cost $40 million over 10 years. Electronic medical charts, as well as a secure online interface for patients to access them at their choosing, are coming to the hospital in Butler.

Asked whether that's a trend for hospitals nationwide, DeFurio said yes, for those hospitals that can afford such a change.

Health concerns

Dr. Thomas McGill, vice president of quality and patient safety, gave an overview of health statistics for the county and BHS's patients.

There are two major health concerns at least somewhat specific to our area, he said: opioids and lung cancer.

Smoking in Butler County is more common than average, McGill said, and the county has the second highest rate of small particulates in the air due to Ohio power plants.

Patients at BHS's emergency room who are admitted to the hospital are out of the ER in about half the time as national averages. It takes 166 minutes at BHS compared to 300 minutes on average.

Patients who are discharged straight from the ER, however, stay about five minutes longer than national averages.

BHS takes about half the time to decide whether to admit a patient than the national average, McGill said.