Hospital provided $2 million in free care, administrator says

By Scott Loftis

SLoftis@cherryroad.com

Mercy Hospital in Berryville provided more than $2 million in unreimbursed care for 814 patients who were unable to pay during the hospital’s fiscal year that ended June 30, hospital administrator VonDa Moore told the Carroll County Quorum Court at its regular meeting on Monday, Oct. 18.

Still, the hospital’s revenue exceeded its expenses for the fiscal year, Moore said, with revenue of $20 million and expenses of a little more than $18 million for a net of $1.5 million — an operating margin of about 7.6 percent.

“I feel pretty proud of that,” Moore said. While District 4 Justice of the Peace Duane Coatney questioned the amount that Mercy pays to rent space from the county, District 10 JP Larry Swofford commended Moore for the hospital’s commitment to charity.

“Two million dollars in free care means you’re not turning people away …and I appreciate that,” Swofford said.

“Thank you,” Moore replied. “I’m very proud of that, too, and that’s part of why I chose to work and choose to work for Mercy, because I believe in that mission.”

In other business, JPs voted to establish a line item in the budget for certain funds received through the American Rescue Plan and also transferred $150,000 to a fund established several years ago for the eventual construction of a new courthouse. That fund now exceeds $1 million. District 11 JP John Howerton said he would ask County Judge Ronda Griffin to reappoint a judicial committee that will contact architects regarding costs for a potential new building.

District 1 JP Jack Deaton, who chairs the quorum court’s budget and finance committee, said budget meetings for 2023 are ongoing and he expects to present a proposal to the full quorum court at its November meeting, which is scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21, at Southern Heights Baptist Church in Berryville.