Milford Regional facing $9M loss

Milford Regional Medical Center Milford Regional Medical Center is facing a $9 million loss.

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By Laura Finaldi

The Milford Regional Medical Center is exploring all options -- including changes to personnel and operations -- as the health care system faces a $9 million loss.

Terri McDonald, the nonprofit’s director of public relations and marketing, confirmed the health care system’s $9 million loss on Wednesday and said that all options were on the table to make up the deficit. She said several factors contributed to the loss, most significantly patient volume, which surpassed the previous year but still wasn’t high enough to offset expenses.

Another factor driving the loss was the opening of the $54 million, 78,000 square foot Meehan Family Pavilion -- the hospital’s largest expansion to date. The Pavilion includes a new emergency department, intensive care unit, and private patient rooms. While the expansion was a factor in the loss, it wasn’t the main driving force, McDonald said.

Despite the deficiency, Milford Regional believes the expansion was still the right choice for the community, as it enhanced emergency room capacity and the nonprofit's ability to accommodate new technologies and equipment in intensive care, McDonald said.

An increase in the health system's contribution to the Health Safety Net, an uncompensated care pool, also contributed to the loss.

Moving forward, the hospital will continue to focus on growth, McDonald said. An urgent care center is scheduled to open in Hopkinton in October, and a Milford urgent care center will open some time early next year.