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Excelsior Springs Hospital reports quality gains but warns of ongoing financial challenges
Summary
At the June 16 City Council meeting, Excelsior Springs Hospital CEO Kristen DeHart presented the hospital’s 2024 annual report, highlighting clinical quality metrics and new service partnerships while describing continuing financial pressures tied to billing-system conversion, denied claims and thin rural margins.
Kristen DeHart, chief executive officer of Excelsior Springs Hospital, told the City Council on June 16 that the hospital maintained strong clinical performance in 2024 even as it worked through financial and billing-system challenges.
DeHart said the hospital recorded “0 hospital acquired infections reported in 2024” and that its emergency-to-transfer time for stroke, trauma and sepsis cases “is consistently under 50 minutes,” adding that door-to-provider time in the emergency department averages about 10 minutes. She also said the hospital’s outpatient clinics grew from about 9,200 visits in the prior year to more than 11,000, and pharmacy doses rose from about 78,000 to 106,000 year over year.
The report matters because the hospital is a critical access provider for northern Clay County; DeHart told the council that access to care, behavioral health and chronic disease remain the community’s top needs and that the hospital’s behavioral health program is expanding to serve children aged 5–19 with funding support from Clay County.
On finances, DeHart described large swings tied to a recent conversion to a new electronic medical record and financial system and to denials and clearing-house issues that slowed collections. She said the audited fiscal-year statement for 2024 remains in draft form while accounting teams reconcile which items belong above or below the operating line. The slide deck the CEO presented showed total patient gross revenues near $125 million and consolidated revenues of about $130 million; DeHart said contractual allowances and accounting work continue to affect the bottom line.
DeHart described several short- and medium-term steps the hospital is using to stabilize cash flow: a line-of-credit draw program from Optum Financial (she said the council-approved draws have been used as short-term operating capital), negotiated vendor payment plans, and outside firms working on denials and collections. “We are in a great place that we actually have receivables,” she told the council, but added that mapping and cleaning old-to-new system bridges — for example patient identifiers that are not coming across correctly — has required manual rework and slowed payments.
The presentation also reviewed operational and workforce developments: the hospital hired new specialty coverage (a Liberty General Surgery team providing clinic and operating-room days), added locum coverage from an experienced emergency physician, and introduced a child and adolescent psychologist. DeHart said the hospital received $1,550,000 from the Clay County Children’s Services Fund for pediatric psychiatric services and noted two recent grants: a $75,000 HRET award for an infection-prevention project and a $25,000 patient-safety grant for a badge-activated call system.
DeHart also announced service changes: the hospital closed its home health and hospice lines because reimbursements did not cover costs; staff and most patients were transitioned to other agencies. She said primary-care staff departures and temporary clinic closures are planned in the near term (physician Robert Bizard and nurse practitioner Tish Davis planned departures were noted) and that the express clinic will be closed for a deep clean and limited renovation while the hospital completes credentialing for replacements.
Council members asked for more detail on projected financial impacts from the home health/hospice closure and on the Optum financing; DeHart said she would provide follow-up materials to the council. She emphasized that survey readiness, quality tracking and community partnerships remain top priorities as the hospital works to stabilize finances.
DeHart closed by stressing the hospital’s mission and community role: “we are a hundred and 21 years strong this year as Excelsior Springs Hospital,” she said, and urged continued local support.
The City Council did not take formal action on the hospital presentation; the session was a standing presentation and discussion.
Looking ahead, DeHart said the hospital expects its audited financial statements and continued progress on clearing-house and claims issues to clarify the 2024 results and to improve cash flow in the coming months.
