WARREN, Ark. (1/26/26) – The Bradley County Medical Center Board of Directors gathered inside the hospital’s conference room on Thursday, Jan. 22 for its first meeting of 2026. Financial reports, executive updates, winter weather, and policy approvals were among the topics covered.
The previous meeting’s minutes were approved before Controller Matt Pace touched on financials. He informed the board that almost all service lines were up from November to December. Gross patient revenue came in at $3,568,830 with a net operating revenue of $1,661,615. The hospital reported a net loss of $132,282 but noted that accounts receivable went down $650,000. The sales tax fund totaled $5,869,490.16 after gaining $118,784.57 the previous month.
The meeting transitioned to CEO/CFO Leslie Huitt’s update. She touched on the financials a bit and said December was a lot better than November in terms of volume, revenue, and collections. The loss was somewhat overstated due to contractual adjustments due to inappropriate credit balances. This was corrected this month, but they are looking into the causes. She is still concerned about the decrease in cash.
She continued by informing the board that Dr. Russell Gregory at the BCMC Rural Health Clinic was interviewed by the Eagle Democrat recently and will be in the paper in the next couple of weeks. Huitt updated the board about the generator and said that Purchasing Director Terry Young met with HealthTrust who said they may be able to help the hospital save up to 22% when they purchase a new one. She said they will need to check brands and do more research, but that it could be an option.
Huitt gave a report on the upcoming winter weather and preparations for it. The hospital has plenty of bottled water in case a boil order is put into effect. There are rooms available for staff to stay at the hospital and Dr. Biggers is available in case there are problems traveling for the ER physicians scheduled. If there is a significant amount of ice BCMC may not be able to transport higher acuity patients so there are preparations being made to keep patients longer than normal. They are going to try to tarp the helipad to prevent ice buildup so they can fly patients out earlier than they’d be able to transport by ambulance. The cafeteria is also stocked and ready.
One issue that came from the State Health survey concerned the amount of diesel fuel on the premises. BCMC did not have a tank but recently rectified this with the help of Sewell Oil Company. They are allowing the hospital to use a 1,000-gallon tank as long as we purchase diesel from them and return it to them when or if we don’t need it. The tank is full and ready for use. Huitt let the board know that BCMC was recently ranked the state’s top Critical Access Hospital in Social Responsibility by the Lown Institute. The hospital received an A ranking in several other categories and a full press release will be sent out in the coming days.
Huitt ended her portion by asking the board to approve one purchase with sales tax funds for six Holter monitors at a cost of $11,000. The board approved the purchase unanimously.
Chief Nursing Officer Jamie Wolfe started his report by informing the board that COVID cases were down, but flu diagnoses were up. He also said they are seeing some higher acuity patients, which is concerning with the upcoming winter weather since they may not be able to transport them as quickly as normal. He did mention that they are prepared for those longer stays and commended staff for taking shifts and willing to stay at the hospital to make sure shifts are covered.
Chief Operating Officer Leeanna Williams said that cardiac pulmonary rehabilitation is picking up. She said they have had several patients who love the service and referrals are coming in more consistently. She transitioned into annual approval of policies with the manuals for Administration, MOS/Billing, and Senior Care up for a vote. All three were approved unanimously.
In other business, Huitt recognized the Home Health department for their excellent work. The department recently received their iQIES Report from CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) and is at or better than the national and state average in almost every single category. Huitt said Home Health also saw a significant increase in visits in December despite being short-staffed.
Huitt touched on a Financial Impact Analysis that was done by Wipfli that assessed the impact of planned operational changes. She did not go through every aspect of it, but the main takeaway was that without improved collections it will not matter what service lines or doctors are brought to the hospital. The last item was a proposal from Merchant McIntyre Associates. This company helps entities secure federal funding and has helped a number of hospitals. The monthly cost of retaining this company was a concern for the board. As a result, they will revisit the proposal at a later date.
The meeting then went into executive session with medical staff recommendations approved unanimously before adjournment.
For the latest news and updates regarding BCMC please like the Bradley County Medical Center Facebook page or follow us on Instagram (BCMCWarren) or X, formerly Twitter (BCMC Warren). To keep up with the most recent news and updates for the BCMC Rural Health Clinic, please like the BCMC Rural Health Clinic page on Facebook.
