Novant Health, parent company of Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center, recently announced audited financial results for the not-for-profit health care system for 2014.

The Winston-Salem-based system reported a net income of $201.8 million on operating revenue of $3.8 billion in 2015. It also reported a community benefit of $639.2 million, including $135 million of direct charity care, according to a Novant Health news release.

Fiscal year 2014 net income, also referred as excess revenue over expenses, is made up of $166.9 million of operating income and investment gain of $38.9 million.

Carl S. Armato, president and CEO of Novant Health, said in a statement that the organization responsibly managed its expenses in 2014 to ensure a financially healthy position in a continued turbulent health care environment.

“As with the past several years, Novant Health managed itself with a strong sense of financial responsibility as we prepare for continued changes in the healthcare industry,” Armato said.
Audit figures, posted on the health system’s website, showed that Novant Health provided more than $639 million of community benefit in 2014, including over $135 million in free charity care to uninsured and indigent patients last year.

As a not-for-profit health care system, the organization is committed to fulfilling its mission to improve the health of the communities it serves, regardless of a patient’s ability to pay, the release stated.
Charity care for indigent patients ranged from providing flu shots to comprehensive cancer treatments.
Bad debt, which is not included in community benefit reporting, was slightly higher than 2013 at $190 million.

In addition to community benefit and charity care, as a not-for-profit system, the organization reinvests operating and investment income into new technology, hospital improvements, equipment and
community health needs.

In 2014, Novant Health converted seven medical centers to electronic health records. The project is part of the $600 million investment the organization expects to make implementing electronic health records across all facilities.

In all, the organization invested more than $266 million in capital for construction projects, routine equipment replacements at facilities and the implementation of electronic health records, the release stated.

A significant expenditure was made to finalize construction of Novant Health Haymarket Medical Center in Northern Virginia, which opened in 2014.

Fred Hargett, chief financial officer for Novant Health, said in a statement that healthy financial results fund planned investments as well as those needed to react to the needs of communities across the organization’s four-state footprint.

“Our patients rely on our investments every time they put their trust in us for care,” Hargett said. “We have a responsibility to our communities to ensure we provide them with the very best care available and, in 2014, a significant investment was made to update equipment, implement electronic health records and open access to care in Northern Virginia.”

Novant Health facilities participate in state and national quality public reporting programs and consistently rank as national leaders.

“While affordability continues to be a focus for Novant Health, paramount to our commitment to our patients is a quality outcome. We continue to put quality and safety at the forefront of all we do,” Armato said.

Novant Health also focused on expanding access to care for patients by expanding hours at primary care clinics, opening Novant Health Express clinics, offering video and e-visits and encouraging use of MyChart, an online patient portal synced with electronic health records.

At the end of 2014, Novant Health had 411,000 registered MyChart users and led the country among Epic electronic health record providers for utilization. More than 100,000 Novant Health patients log in to MyChart each month to access their electronic health records versus the national average of about 25,000 monthly users, officials said.

Through the portal, patients can schedule appointments, view test results and communicate with their physicians via a secure email.

Following the first open enrollment period for the Health Insurance Marketplace, Novant Health saw a slight decline in self-pay patients in 2014. Patient volumes remained flat to neutral year-over-year and, as patients see more out-of-pocket costs with rising deductibles, elective procedures continue to be thoughtfully considered by patients before taking place.

In 2014, Novant Health also advanced its population health management strategy. Novant Health’s new patient-oriented delivery system (PODs) launched in March 2014 with an integrated, multidisciplinary care coordination team dedicated to the holistic needs of individuals in a defined geographic area.
Under this model, care is coordinated across the health care continuum by a centralized, core team of health care professionals. The PODs consist of up to 200 providers, depending on the area, and work with community health resources to manage a patient’s care needs.

“The goal of population health management is to expand care beyond a patient’s immediate needs and treat the whole patient – not just whatever brought them in today,” Armato said. “We want to help our patients get healthy for a lifetime and ensure they receive the right care, at the right place, at the right price.”