Trios board, amid bankruptcy, approves $171M budget
The Trios Health board has approved a $171 million operating budget for 2018.
The spending plan was unanimously approved Thursday night following a public hearing.
Although board members OK’d the budget, they understood it may be revised as Trios continues to work its way through bankruptcy.
“The negotiations to exit out of bankruptcy are key. A lot is dependent on what happens with those,” said Tony Sudduth, Trios’ chief financial officer.
The $171 million in operating expenses includes everything from salaries and benefits to utilities and supplies.
It also includes around $13 million in depreciation and amortization — money that Trios won’t have to shell out next year in cash, but that’s factored in for buildings and other assets.
The budget anticipates $169 million in operating revenue and an overall positive operating cash flow of $3.6 million for the year. It assumes flat patient volumes.
Trios Health is the name of the Kennewick Public Hospital District. It includes two hospitals and a network of care centers and clinics.
The district has experienced financial difficulty the past several years.
Last year, the board hired a consulting firm to develop a plan to get the district back on financial track.
Trios went through workforce restructuring earlier this year as part of that effort. It also filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection and is working with creditors.
Sudduth said the district has had success with the Trios Southridge Hospital leaseholder, although it’s hit a wall at the moment with the Trios Care Center at Southridge leaseholder.
As part of the improvement plan, the district also is in talks with RCCH Healthcare Partners and UW Medicine about a possible partnership.
The exact structure of a partnership — whether it would take the form of affiliation, acquisition, merger or something else — hasn’t been announced.
Sara Schilling: 509-582-1529, @SaraTCHerald
This story was originally published November 10, 2017 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Trios board, amid bankruptcy, approves $171M budget."