Monday, OCTOBER 13, 2025 |
Photo – MHCC – Bigfoot99 file photo
Memorial Hospital of Carbon County administrators held their first town hall-style meeting to discuss the medical center’s successes, ongoing improvements, and remaining concerns.
On Thursday, October 9th, members of the public were invited to the Memorial Hospital of Carbon County Windy City Café for the first community town hall meeting. Memorial Hospital Chief Operating Officer Stephanie Hinkle explained that the gathering was designed to allow administrators to share information and give community members an opportunity to voice questions or concerns about the hospital.
Next, Memorial Hospital Chief Executive Officer Kerry Ashment addressed the approximately 15 attendees, emphasizing that hospital leadership is committed to correcting the mistakes of the past while improving transparency. As an example of his commitment to accountability, CEO Ashment announced that for the first time in three years, Memorial Hospital of Carbon County is working under a budget, which came as a surprise to the Board of County Commissioners.
Ashment said he is committed to acknowledging past administrative mistakes and taking steps to correct them, calling it the only path to improving operations at the Rawlins hospital.
The CEO also discussed the benefits Memorial Hospital provides to the people of Carbon County beyond medical care. In addition to offering employment in the area, Ashment said the medical facility gives back to the community through fundraisers, such as the Memorial Hospital Foundation’s annual Fun Scramble. Money raised during the golf tournament was donated to both Carbon County school districts to help cover the cost of student lunches.
Ashment said that, according to a recent financial analysis, medical facilities like Memorial Hospital of Carbon County deliver a ten-to-one return on community investment.
Ashment said he’s proud of the work underway at Memorial Hospital of Carbon County and hopes the community will come to share that sense of pride.
The discussion continued with Memorial Hospital Director of Revenue Cycle Felicia Kimble, who said that since taking over the medical facility’s business office one year ago, she has focused on training staff to better support patients. Kimble said that in the past, when patients called the hospital with concerns, staff often failed to address the issues, sometimes leaving them unresolved for months. The Director of Revenue Cycle said she has made it her personal goal to improve patient support.
Kimble then presented a report detailing Memorial Hospital’s revenue performance over the past year. The Director of Revenue Cycle first addressed registration accuracy or ensuring that patient information is entered correctly into the hospital’s computer system. Kimble said accurate patient information is essential to guarantee the hospital is properly compensated by insurance companies, adding that for the past 12 months, Memorial Hospital has exceeded expectations.
Despite the ongoing progress, Kimble said she’s still working to improve registration accuracy through continued staff training.
Kimble then reviewed the hospital’s point-of-service cash collections, which reflects how much money staff collected from patients at the time of care. Kimble said that over the past year, collections rose from a low of $2,800 last November to a high of $10,500 this September. The Director of Revenue Cycle explained that collecting insurance co-payments at the time of service helps boost hospital revenue.
Another area where Memorial Hospital has shown progress over the past year is in what’s known as “discharge not final billed.” This refers to accounts that remain unpaid due to errors or missing information. Kimble said that while the process has improved over the last 12 months, the total value of unpaid bills has grown to $1.4 million, up from $1 million in August.
Kimble added that some discharge not final billed revenue is unavoidable, since certain insurance providers require information that isn’t available at the time of billing.
Kimble moved on to Memorial Hospital’s clean claim rate, or the percentage of initial insurance claims processed without errors. With the current clean claim rate at 79.7%, the Director of Revenue Cycle said she’s working to bring the number closer to 100%.
The next item on Kimble’s report was the hospital’s total accounts receivable days, or the time between when a patient sees a provider and when the hospital receives payment from the insurance company. While not yet at the expected level, the Director of Revenue Cycle said she’s made significant progress over the past year.
Kimble said the industry standard for hospital accounts receivable is generally around 45 days. The Director of Revenue Cycle said that as of last month, 53.4% of Memorial Hospital’s accounts receivable had not been paid in over 90 days. Hospital staff are working to bring that number below 50%, with Kimble adding that fewer than 25% over 90 days would be ideal.
Kimble said Medicare and Blue Cross Blue Shield typically pay insurance claims promptly, though errors in the registration process can delay payments by as much as six months, contributing to the high number of overdue accounts receivable.
For those without medical insurance, Memorial Hospital offers discounts for cash payments and provides financial assistance.
Finally, Co-Director of Quality Abbie Webster said the hospital has launched a new program to track and resolve patient complaints, which she said has proven effective in improving the overall care experience.
Afterwards, Memorial Hospital administrators opened the meeting to public comments. Attendees requested additional services, specifically kidney treatment, saying that Carbon County’s 28 dialysis patients must travel out of the area for care.
Chief Operating Officer Stephanie Hinkle said hospital administrators and the Board of Trustees are open to expanding available services but are still determining if the benefits justify the costs.
However, even if Memorial Hospital could offer dialysis, Hinkle said recruiting specialist providers to rural Wyoming remains a significant challenge.
Thursday’s town hall-style meeting served as a way to let the public know that administrators are aware of the challenges facing Memorial Hospital of Carbon County and working to resolve them. Chief Operating Officer Hinkle invited the public to bring additional questions or concerns to her attention at any time by visiting or calling the hospital at 324-8378.
