Britt Tabor

More patients who were unable to pay their bills and stagnant admissions contributed to a $169,000 September loss for Erlanger hospital, an official said Monday.

For three of the four past months, losses from bad debt and charity care were more than 12 percent of total patient revenues, said Chief Financial Officer Britt Tabor.

"I don't think that's a trend because, as things improve from a financial standpoint in the economy, this should start backing off," he said. "But this is something we need to watch."

Year-to-date, the hospital has lost $1.6 million, compared to a budgeted gain of $2 million, Mr. Tabor said.

For the second month in a row, air medical transport cases were constrained by weather that grounded Life Force helicopters. Those cases tend to be well-paying for the hospital, Mr. Tabor said.

Although requests for air medical flights are down nationally, at Erlanger the number of requests for Life Force flights was stable between 2008 and 2009. However, the number of missed flights, virtually all because of bad weather, rose from 150 in September, 2008, to more than 200 last month.

Also at the meeting, Erlanger officials gave preliminary approval to a resolution to double the usable space at Erlanger South Family Practice physicians office in Ringgold, Ga.

The resolution would allow a developer to build a facility to Erlanger's specifications and lease the building to Erlanger at a cost of $14.50 per square foot.

Board member Kim White, former CEO of real estate company Luken Holdings, commented on the affordable lease rate.

"Good negotiating job," she said.

At the meeting, Dr. Chris Haddock, a Chattanooga native and physician at Erlanger South Family Practice, praised the hospital's commitment to bolstering primary care in the region and said he was relieved that he and his colleagues' offices would be getting an updated facility.

"We practice very good medicine. ... By giving us this office space, it allows us to compete with the other physicians in the area," he said.