Licking Memorial recovering from COVID, buys Jersey Township land
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NEWARK − The community’s health and Licking Memorial Health Systems’ financial health took a hard hit during COVID, but both are recovering, with some lingering issues.
Licking Memorial Health Systems President and CEO Rob Montagnese gave an update on the state of LMHS at its quarterly breakfast on Tuesday.
He said 2022 was a challenging year for the local hospital, as well as the healthcare industry, with the cost of supplies, cost of labor and continuing COVID challenges. Still, he said, it was a good year.
“We had a good year financially,” Montagnese said. “We did not meet the budgeted numbers, but still were able to have a positive bottom line.
“We really felt that our employees, with their dedication to work, deserved something during the holidays. So we were able to give a bonus in recognition of their tremendous work.”
LMHS has survived the nation’s worker shortage thanks to Central Ohio Technical College, Ohio State University and Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking County helping it find workers, Montagnese said. LMHS employs more than 2,200.
Possible western Licking County expansion
Licking Memorial also continued planning for the future with the December purchase of 100 acres of Jersey Township land at a price tag of $10 million. It’s immediately south of Worthington Road, northwest of Patterson Road, midway between Mink Street and Ohio 310.
“We just tried to identify an area we thought would be a good spot relative to this facility, our Pataskala facility, and still be able to serve the needs,” Montagnese said. “It gives us the ability to evolve with the probable growth over the next several years.
“Urgent care or physician practices are very likely. It may be far into the future, but you could see significant hospital operations out there in 15-20 years, depending on how the population evolves in that part of the county.”
The Licking Memorial land lies about five miles south of the Intel Corporation site, where the computer chip manufacturer will build two factories employing 3,000 workers, beginning production in 2025.
Vaccine hesitancy grows
The health of the community has improved since the worst of the pandemic, but Montagnese said one COVID-related trend continues.
“We’re starting to see some skepticism in terms of not just COVID vaccinations, but all vaccines,” Montagnese said. “If there’s any residual effect, we’ve seen a slight decrease in immunization rates not just with our employees, but community members. I don’t know if that will be long-term or short term as they evaluate vaccines going forward.”
The flu vaccination rate of healthcare workers is 84% at Licking Memorial Hospital, compared to 91% at Cleveland Clinic, 93% at OSU, 89% at Riverside and a national average of 80%.
The most troubling community health problems include smoking, obesity, addictions and mental health issues.
But, Montagnese said, the top indicator of a person’s longevity is where they live. Availability of health care and places to exercise or lack of healthy food in an area are critical.
“The indicator of your life expectancy is not your genetics, not your lifestyle, not how many pieces of bacon you eat,” Montagnese said. “It’s your zip code. And a lot of that relates to population health. Your zip code will tell people more about how long you are likely to live than anything else.”
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LMHS honorees
Following are some of the 2022 Licking Memorial award winners recognized at Tuesday's annual breakfast event.
Donald Day Volunteer of the Year Award: Patricia Law
Manager of the Year Award: Marcia Flowers, Paula Fry
Clarissa Ann Howard Nursing Award for clinical excellence: Cameron Chapman, Teri Temnick
Physician of the Year: Dr. Lori Elwood, Licking Memorial Pathology
Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr. Mary Beth Hall and Dr. Thomas Hall
Lifetime of Care recipients: Dr. Chang Sup Lee, Dr. Donna McDonald
Mary Jane McDonald Building a Healthier Community Award: Boys & Girls Club of Newark.
New LMH Board members: Chuck Moore, Jay Young Jr.
Robert McGaughy Honorary Ambassador Award, 2022: Bonnie Manning
Robert McGaughy Honorary Ambassador Award, 2023: Jim Mitchell
By The Numbers
Following are the 2021 and 2022 statistics in the following categories. The 2021 number comes first, followed by 2022.
In-patient admissions, observations: 14,665, 15,853
Patient days: 39,436, 40,198
Outpatients: 283,872, 294,361
Emergency room visits: 50,734, 50,748
Urgent care visits: 46,256, 48,928
Inpatient surgeries: 2,199, 2,361
Outpatient surgeries: 4,828, 6,046
Deliveries: 865, 793
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: LMHS recovers from COVID financial woes, buys Jersey Township land
