Texas Health Presbyterian takes financial hit after Ebola crisis

The Texas hospital that wrongfully discharged now deceased Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan is already experiencing financial repercussions from the clinical slip-ups associated with the deadly virus.

What kind of repercussions? In less than a month, from Oct. 1 through Oct. 20, officials at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas have witnessed tanking emergency room visits and serious net revenue declines. And the numbers are telling.

Emergency room visits, for instance, sank a staggering 50 percent compared to the first nine months of the year, representing a loss of 2,336 visits for the hospital, according to an Oct. 22 financial disclosure filed by the 25-hospital Texas Health Resources, parent company of TH Presbyterian.

Moreover, net revenue also took a hit, declining some $8.1 million, a more than 25 percent decrease from the previous nine months. 

"It is too early to predict what, if any, material or significant financial impact this situation will have on Texas Health Resources as a whole," read the disclosure, prepared by Ronald R. Long, executive vice president of resources development and deployment and chief financial officer of THR. "The negative financial impact experienced thus far at THD is primarily the result of the emergency department being placed on diversionary status from Oct. 12 to Oct. 20, 2014 and to a lesser degree the transfer by physicians of cases to other facilities."

The hospital resumed full operation of its emergency department Oct. 20, according to a TH Presbyterian statement.

In addition to the hits to ED visits and net revenue, the hospital also saw declines in its operating income for the third quarter. Operating income for Q3 2014 stood at $102.3 million, compared to $113.2 million in Q3 2013. Net revenue for the quarters stood at $993.2 million and $931.1 million respectively.

As officials pointed out, the fiscal losses have only been observed at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas and not the health system's 24 other hospitals. In its financial discloser, THR underscored its "adequate" insurance coverage  to cover any liabilities that may arise from what transpired as a result of the Ebola virus. "THR also believes it has sufficient liquidity to cover any losses that might exceed coverage limits and declines in volume at THD," Long wrote.

The chain of events leading up to the dismal financial numbers started when Thomas Eric Duncan, the nation's first Ebola diagnosis, showed up at the hospital emergency room on the eve of Sept. 25. After poor communication, lacking hospital processes, EHR inadequacies and a host of other issues at play, less than two weeks later, Duncan was dead.

"Unfortunately, in our initial treatment of Mr. Duncan, despite our best intentions and a highly skilled medical team, we made mistakes. We did not correctly diagnose his symptoms as those of Ebola," said Daniel Varga, chief clinical officer at THR, in an Oct. 16 hearing before Congress. "We are deeply sorry."

Against the backdrop of what transpired with Duncan, two TH Presbyterian nurses also contracted the Ebola virus due to inadequate protective equipment and lack of proper training.

Some 4,877 people have lost their lives from what the World Health Organization has called the deadliest outbreak of Ebola in history. Nearly 10,000 people have confirmed and suspected cases reported.