Thursday’s Trigg County Chamber of Commerce “Lunch & Learn” brought with it a considerable update from Dr. Nancy Ellen Jolly, MD, discussing the growth of Trigg County Hospital since shaky financial footing was first reported in 2017.
Better known as “Ellie” to her hometown community, she noted patient revenues have nearly doubled in the last seven years — up from $14.5 million to $26.5 million this past fiscal year — thanks to a plethora of both new, and fully seasoned, in- and outpatient care options available on campus.
In 2017-18, she said the hospital was operating at annual losses around $2.5 million, but last year ended with more than $5.5 million in profit. And this is sustained profits, too, with cash on hand currently north of $20 million.
At present, she added that 85% of revenues come from outpatient efforts, while the remaining 15% come from in-patient services.
Revenue, however, doesn’t come from emergent and non-emergent runs with the ambulance service — a service she confirmed that is provided by the county, but is proudly administered by the staff of Trigg County Hospital and EMS.
Jolly also noted only three western Kentucky counties help with their ambulances: Trigg, Marshall and Calloway. And for the citizens of Cadiz, and beyond, this is greatly improved and made thoroughly possible through the ambulance and hospital tax — in order to offset the loss.
Ambulances, she said, are more than up-to-date, and the living quarters for EMT’s and paramedics — like the rest of the campus — are very much on the list for improvements, repairs, and likely full replacement in the coming months.
Two ambulance crews run every day, sometimes offering mutual aid to surrounding counties, and Jolly said the plan following this potential grant would be to add a third.
Among the newest additions to staff and services, she said, are installations of brand-new, state-of-the-art CT and MRI machines, each with cardiac and breast scanning capabilities.
Machines like these, she said, cannot be found any closer than Madisonville or Nashville.
In attendance, Judge-Executive Stan Humphries agreed that the county’s partnership with the hospital was paying strong dividends — and that prospective businesses and potential new residents usually take long, hard looks at places like hospitals and schools, and assessing them, before finally choosing to locate in the area.
According to the Kentucky Hospital Association, Trigg County Hospital now averages 300 admissions annually, 22,000 visits in the clinic setting, and nearly 5,000 visits in the emergency room.
