Next year's Winneshiek Medical Center budget has a familiar look

The 2017-2018 fiscal year budget for Winneshiek Medical Center forecasts an operating gain of 3 percent of net revenues--the same margin as this year's budget.

Chief Financial Officer Lynn Luloff Wednesday evening unveiled a budget that calls for $61.8 million in net operating revenues and a capital improvement budget of $3.6 million.

If the medical center hits its financial goal for next year, it will have an operating gain of $1.8 million.  The budget calls for an increase in patient volumes--largely in outpatient services--and a 3 percent increase in prices charged.

The 2016-2017 WMC budget calls for the medical center to have a 3.1 percent operating margin, but it has been operating around 2.0 to 2.4 percent.  For the first seven months of this fiscal year, the medical center has had an operating gain of $757,639.

Fiscal year 2018's capital improvement budget has a smaller entry for IT purchases.  The medical center is currently in the process of installing new electronic health record software, which accounted for the higher-than-usual capital improvement budget this year.