The Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital’s employees will get paid Friday instead of Wednesday due to a cash flow crisis at the hospital, its interim Chief Executive Officer Kendall Griffith announced Wednesday.
The hospital has been foundering in a sea of red ink and has been suffering too many patients who are unable to pay for services rendered. In recent months, the situation has become more pronounced, and hospital officials began raising alarms about potential difficulty with basic expenses like payroll.
Less than one week ago, Luis Hospital Chief Financial Officer Deepak Bansal told the V.I Legislature, "I foresee difficulty meeting our next payroll." (See related links below)
"We have about one day of cash. That represents about $250,000 on an average basis, but really we have about zero right now and we are being very careful about releasing checks," Bansal told the Senate.
Asked what he planned to do, Bansal said last week he was asking the Office of Management and Budget to advance the hospital a portion of its budget allotment.
On Wednesday, Bansal confirmed the Office of Management and Budget has provided assurances that funding for the hospital’s payroll was sent to the bank and that all employees will be paid on Friday.
Griffith informed the hospital’s staff of the payroll delay in an e-mail message Tuesday and apologized for any inconveniences the delay may cause employees.
