Schneider Hospital Seeking Financial Health

The health of Virgin Islanders depends in part on the financial health of its hospitals, officials said at a meeting of the Budget, Appropriations, and Finance Committee Wednesday.

Leaders of Schneider Regional Medical Center, in particular, said they were “doubled down” on efforts to collect revenues by investing in training its personnel.

CEO Tina Comissiong said the institution was dedicating new resources to bill collection and bolstering its existing efforts.

“We have implemented an online bill payment option and are now sending bill notifications and reminders via text messages,” Comissiong told senators. “We have to collect more and cut our expenses.”

The hospital is also expanding services, adding a psychiatrist, interventional cardiologist, dermatologist and gastroenterologist this year.

“We must optimize patient volumes, improve the payor mix, and introduce new, profitable service lines to generate new revenue for SRMC,” she said. “We have invested in expanding service options that our community has a demonstrated need for.”

For 2024, the hospital will only be able to generate $72.3 million of its planned $105.7 million operating budget. She said the St. Thomas hospital is working to reduce the remaining $33 million by increasing revenue collection.