by Tony Chen

Here's a few things I've been hearing from other hospitals on the impact of this recession.

"Bad debt is going through the roof."

"Even administrative employees are being asked to take unpaid time off, go on furloughs."

"Merit increases are frozen. So are open positions."

"Surprisingly, volumes are up 5 to 8 percent from last year. It's just that we're not getting paid for the services we provided."

"We are actually having one of the strongest years in the hospital's history."

"We're actually doing okay, though we are reconsidering a major capital project."

One thing to recognize is that while we like to look at national numbers, our hospital systems all operate in local environments. Yes, all of our investment incomes were smashed, but each market (some folks say it's probably 250 to 300 local markets around the country) will have unique dynamics to deal with.

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