Led by Director Eric Shell, Stroudwater’s Rural team is committed to ensuring high-quality, affordable care to residents of rural communities. The Strategic, Financial, and Operational Assessment is one tool the Stroudwater team uses to identify opportunities for Rural and Community Hospitals to improve financial and operational performance, helping to ensure that they remain sustainable.
Stroudwater worked with Lewis County General Hospital (LCGH) in Lowville, NY, from fall 2012 through spring 2013. LCGH had recently incurred an annual operating loss of nearly $2 million and had depleted capital reserves. Eric Shell, along with Stroudwater’s Rural team, performed a Strategic, Financial, and Operational Assessment along with a CAH feasibility study. The team then worked with the LCGH management to develop an Action Plan to assist in implementing critical recommendations from the assessment. With Stroudwater’s assistance and follow up, LCGH financial performance improved significantly in FY 2013 to breakeven levels and is budgeted for positive operating margin for FY 2014.