(KLZA)--During the Community Medical Center's annual public meeting May 2,  Hospital CEO Ryan Larsen defined the hospitals 2018 financial picture as strong, but with a significant decrease in the bottom line.

While revenues grew to $28.1-million, more than $1.5 million more than in 2017,  the total expenses increased by more than $2.6-million to $27.545-million.  

Larsen says the excess revenues of $948, 243 is excellent for a rural hospital,  calling it a strong performance, but not to the extent CMC has realized in previous years.
 
In Fiscal Year 2017, CMC's revenues outpaced expenses by more than $1.9-million and in FY-2016 the hospital revenues were ahead of expenses by nearly $2.2-million.

Larsen says it is a challenging time for healthcare around the nation and rural hospitals in particular, including some in the area.  54 rural hospitals have now closed in the past decade.

While CMC is in a strong financial situation, Larsen said it is definitely something watched by administration and staff.  He said it takes a lot of hard work by staff members and the support of the community to remain strong and robust.

CMC has more than $12.1-million in unrestricted and internally designated cash and cash equivalents which allow the hospital to weather downturns and to reinvest in necessary facilities and equipment.

Part of the reason for the drop in excess revenue is the high number of Medicare cases when the Congressionally-established rural reimbursement rate is currently set below the cost of care.