As hospitals take steps to prepare for a wider outbreak of coronavirus in New Hampshire, industry experts say the virus will take a toll on their balance sheets.
Facilities around the state are taking drastic steps to ensure they have the capacity to treat patients. That includes cancelling elective and non-emergency procedures, as well as ramping up ways to treat or test patients in unique settings, such as outdoor tents.
“I think this is going to have a significant impact on all hospitals,” Steve Ahnen, president of the New Hampshire Hospital Association, told NHPR. “We are at a point where hospitals are spending significant amounts of resources to stand up new capacities, new processes in their organizations, and they are also announcing that they are going to be suspending services that they would normally be providing.”
He said in the short term, facilities will likely see a “significant impact” to their cash flows. The Hospital Association says it is in contact with the state’s federal delegation as well as state-level officials to ensure resources will be made available, if needed.
Ahnen said it is crucial that hospitals remain in strong financial health so that “they can be there when our communities need us most.”
Listen to NHPR’s full conversation with Steve Ahnen by clicking below
