An HFMA Healthcare Financial Pulse Resource
So you’ve already combed through your budget the umpteenth time. Where else can costs possibly be cut?
Sometimes small changes can be big savers. Consider some of these money-saving ideas from fellow healthcare providers.
St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, a member of Catholic Healthcare West, saved $90,000 in FY 2009 through greater diligence in linen use and replacing disposable pillows with sanitary reusable pillows.
Arizona’s Scottsdale Healthcare saves approximately $82,000 annually through installation of energy-efficient lighting in three parking garages. The organization also controlled costs with elimination of printed payroll notices—the reduction of some 200,000 notices saves approximately $150,000 annually.
Stanford Hospital noticed its big dumpsters were rarely full. A switch to smaller dumpsters and a reduced trash collection schedule saved the hospital $87,000 in one year. A change in policy to de-lint only towels used in the OR when cleaned instead of all towels (including bath) saves $150,000 annually.
At Sacred Heart Hospital, Eau Claire, Wis., employees contributed substantially to $5.1 million in savings through an organization-wide reduction in 5 percent of controllable costs. Just some of the many small changes that contributed to this success: $106,000 saved through renegotiation of phone contracts; $60,000 a year saved from switching from high-cost PCA syringe preservatives to those with a shorter shelf life; and $15,459 a year saved through changes in brand of trash can liners.
Sources:
“Hospitals and Health Care Organizations Are Making Tough Decisions to Ride Out the Recession,” Arizona Business Magazine, October 2009
“Employee Ideas Help Stanford Hospital Save Money,” CBS5.com, June 17, 2008
“Reducing Operating Expenses: Find Green Dollars,” Faye Deich, RN, MS, COO, Sacred Heart Hospital, Speaking for “What’s Right in Health Care,” StuderGroup, July 2009