Hospitals Face Financial Challenges Due to COVID-19 - Kittitas Valley Healthcare, Ellensburg, Wash.

Kittitas Valley Healthcare in Ellensburg, Wash., was among the first in the country to feel the impact of the COVID-19 surge. The rural delivery system and its critical access hospital had to quickly shift focus by postponing so-called elective surgeries and many other nonessential services. Orthopedics and general surgery services — the bread and butter of the organization’s case mix — were halted. The financial hit was felt almost immediately. “Our revenues and volumes fell off a cliff” says CEO Julie Petersen