NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System Chief Operating Officer Nick Baldetti has stepped in as Acting CEO after Jeff Egbert's contract ended. He doesn't know how long a transition might take.
"The board of directors for the Hutchinson Regional Health System have expressed that they are going to do right by the system and the community," Baldetti said. "They are going to take their time. They are going to do it right and make sure that on the go forward for the permanent placement of a CEO, it is the right fit for both the system, the community and the future of healthcare for Reno County and the region."
Baldetti sees improvement in what was the hospital's big budget issue, the cost of travel nursing staff.
"We've significantly reduced the travel labor costs within the system, itself," Baldetti said. "You are never not going to have any travel labor, so to speak, but to put that into context, entering into the year, we had an expectation of a budget of about $18 million in travel labor. That's a significant impact and rise above a traditional $4 million that we would usually see in a pre-COVID environment. We're trending back down toward those levels right now."
The hospital still does not have enough staff to come anywhere close to filling its potential bed space.
"Right now, we would be hard pressed if we had every active bed that we have, about 95," Baldetti said. "If we were running 95 and tipping into 100, we would be at full capacity and then we would have to start having conversations about maybe diverting to other institutions in our region."
The head count is down from what was over 900 at one point at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center.
"We have about 700 employees within the hospital itself, about 1500 within the entirety of the health system," Baldetti said. "That encapsulates Horizons, Hospice and Home Care, as well as the hospital and Health Equip."
Baldetti also wanted to make clear that the hospital is not being sold.
"I have to commend the local board of directors in this regard," Baldetti said. "They are wholly and loyally committed to the aspect of maintaining the Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System as a not-for-profit independent entity and ensuring that this is a community asset for the many years to come."
Baldetti joined HRHS as the Chief Quality Officer in May 2022.
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