Change was a repeated theme as Regional West Health Services CEO Ned Resch recently sat down with Rural Radio’s Bill Boyer for an update on the Scottsbluff healthcare facility.
New services, improved procedures and staffing changes have marked Resch’s first nine months at the hospital, and he says that’s something that will continue well into the future.
Resch noted new providers include an orthopedist that will be joining in the fall, and a rheumatologist will be on staff next month, with two new psychiatrists already on board, and a growing Behavioral Health Unit. “That’s both unfortunate, always to see folks in crisis, but fortunate that we’re here to provide a service and have beds available. (We) had a new therapy dog, Birdy, joined us in our BHU, which is really exciting and really, really nice for patients to have that therapy. And then we have expanded hours, one day a week at our outpatient behavioral health clinic. On Thursdays, we’re open up until 7 p.m.”
One change that Resch said was expected was Fitch Ratings‘ downgrading of the hospital’s bonds in December from B- to CCC. Of particular concern to Fitch was the hospital system’s cash reserves, which have been running considerably lower than the minimum level of 75 days cash on hand that the ratings company prefers, and for the first time Fitch called it an asymmetrical risk.
Resch acknowledged that while it’s never good to see such ratings decline, administrators are executing a plan that will take some time to help generate the higher cash reserves Fitch wants to see.
“More important than putting more into reserves and cash on hand is paying down our liabilities and our vendors. And so it’s kind of a double edged sword; we pay down as we focus on paying down our liabilities and our vendors and our debt, our cash won’t grow so much. And as a result, you know, an organization like Fitch is going to it’s going to look at that and be a little uncomfortable,” said Resch. “And so we’ve articulated that to them, and we are very open and transparent about our plans, and we feel very confident in our plans.”
On the impact of those plans, he said getting back to a higher level of financial standing is just one of their goals, and everything will take time. “At the end of the day, everything we’re talking about is putting the people at the center of everything we do, and that’s what we’re focused on, and then that money will follow and results will follow that. So, it took years and years to get to a to a tough place, with lots of external impacts that were unexpected, and it will take us years to get out of it. And we will also experience curveballs and unexpected things, but we will navigate those.”
Resch said if anything, change is a constant in the healthcare field, so much so that these days, those facilities that don’t change often end up closing their doors. However, Regional West is on a solid evolutionary path.
“You always have to change, and that change sometimes is small and sometimes it’s big. And I would say there was there’s a fair amount of change in 2025, in my first nine months here or really eight months here,” Resch said. “There’s going to be more change, and that is not a bad thing, actually. Any change that happens, we’ll always try to provide as much transparency and context as we possibly can. But I think in the long run, the changes we make are for the future and and stability and health of this hospital.”
The full interview with Ned and Bill can be heard here.