Wellmont Audit Concludes; Findings Reveal Overstatement of Earnings
Associated Press Graphic
Today, Wellmont Health System completed a financial review which revealed the health care company overstated their earnings, according to a recent press release. Wellmont officials have declined to reveal the exact amount of the overstatement at this time.
The audit revealed the following: income from operations of $2.8 million for fiscal year 2006, $2.0 million for fiscal year 2007 and a net loss from operations of $4.59 million for fiscal year 2008. The years 2007 and 2008 have been audited by the accounting firm KPMG.
The review, which was begun in December of last year, was conducted by Wellmont’s finance team as well as the help of outside legal, accounting and auditing firms. The review identified the need for Wellmont to restate financials for fiscal years 2006 and 2007.
According to officials, the overstatement occurred because of several issues and errors in recording expenses, receivables and assets.
A press release issued earlier today states that Wellmont is taking steps to ensure that errors of this magnitude no longer occur. Most importantly, “the financial review did not identify any theft or personal gain associated with the accounting errors.“
11 Connects Digital Journalist George Jackson will have more on this issue as this story progresses.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
I think everyone here discussing the ER apparently have no clue what they are talking about. Seems like you all are going for things that can wait to see your regular doctor. People go to the ER looking for a few ride and to be waited on hand and foot. Most of the time there are people dying in the ER and requires more attention than others. I can’t understand why you people are so selfish and think you are the only one in a 45 bed ER. If your family member was dying you wouldn’t want them to leave and go take care of falls, toothache and minor injuries just because there are so many inconsiderate people there acting like they are dying when really they probably don’t even need to be there. I wonder how many of you complain because you can’t get in to a doctors office or either you have to wait. Seems to me that waiting a few hours in the ER is better than waiting a few weeks to see your doctor. You all need to call your doctors office and fuss at them or either write nasty comments about them on the internet cause they can’t see you. I wonder how many of you posting these comments have jobs and when you do get an itemized statement actually do pay your bills or just looking for something to fuss about. I recently read in the paper as of July the ER can start reporting doctor hopping, drug seekers and abuse of TN CARE and VA MEDICADE. I hope this puts a stop to all this nonsense. I have only been to the ER three times in my whole life and I am 50 years old. What is the deal people running out there all the time. I have been there with family members and the staff.. doctors, nurses, and everyone else have been nothing but wonderful to us.
Everyone needs to get a life and focus on yourself and your own problems.
Obviously some of you didn’t take time to read or comprehend my full comment. I had NOT been to the ER in ten years before the fall at work. So don’t sit there and tell me I abuse the Emergency Room.
It amazes me at how anyone thinks you can get something for nothing. And that you are complaining about care given for an accounting mistake. What does that have to do with ER care. The reason ER care is not as accomodating as you would like is they know the people that come all the time, they know the ones that abuse the system and can usually predict exactly when your coming in. I guarantee if you had to pay to go the ER you would suffer through most things and wait to see a doctor the next morning. There are very few things that can’t wait for the doctor’s office to open. There are some emergencies and those are the things that are treated in a timely fashion. Stop going every time you need a prescription and every time you think you have a cold or the flu and look at how empty the ER is. I have worked with people that have insurance and people that don’t and the ones that don’t are frequent ER visitors and the ones that have insurance can’t afford to go because there deductibles or co pays that discourage them to wait it out and go to the doctor or walk in clinic. Stop holding you hands out for your free ride and take responsibility for your own life. And if some company makes a profit be happy at least those people may keep a job.
One has to realize that in todays world that sometimes going to the ER with a less than emergency situation is an only option. When you don’t have health insurance..because you can’t afford the outrageous premiums..and you call your doctors office or a quick care facility they want cash up front. So, if you do not have the money in your wallet, which is at least a hundred dollars then the only two options you have are to go to the ER or just suffer and hope it isn’t anything serious, which I have done as well. I pay my bills, they just get their payment in monthly installments which is the best I can do. They also don’t tell you that when you set up monthly payment to pay your bill that you will be turned over to a credit card company and a plan called Wellcare where they send you a healthcare credit card and the second that your payment is late they charge you a huge late fee which wipes out at least one of your payments. If you request to close that account and just pay the hospital they send your account directly to a collection agency..which they dont’ tell you.
My last experience there was the first in a couple of years and was only last week. I thought I had broken a bone. The care that I received was so lacking that I left there more confused than I was when I came in. There was only one other person in the area I was in and the tech on duty was watching cable tv at the nurses station. A person came in in the room next to mine about 45 minutes after I did with the same kind of injury and was treated first..yep..guess they forgot about me. I didn’t get the option of seeing an MD, only a PA and while they are skilled individuals…they are not MD’s. When I go for something serious..I want an MD..I pay for an MD. And everyone I talked to really just seemed to lack information. They didn’t know what was wrong, I wasn’t given any instructions to take home, the nurse that wrapped my injury had no clue of the usage of bandage application and just seemed overall confused.
This is not what healthcare should be..I know so many great nurses and other employees at that hospital and it pains me that so many people have such negative experiences in the ER and it drags down the entire reputation of the hospital.
Probably as much as their fraudulent, misleading advertising during that period.
http://www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=62
Any idea how much the earnings were overstated for the years 2006 & 2007.
seems like some of you all are going to the ER too frequently if you think you “ALWAYS” have to wait too long. The main reason for the long waits is that too many people come to the ER for problems that could be taken care of by a regular doctor or could just let it go away at home. Everybody just wants to pull up to the ER drive through…see a MD immediately…be diagnosed and evaluated instantly….given prescriptions…..and all this for FREE!!!
In Tennessee and Virginia, PROFIT CARE comes ahead of PATIENT CARE. As a former health care giver, I am shocked and sad to see what health care has become.
http://www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=62
Buyer beware.
momof3tn, I’ve had ct scans without any dye, so maybe that’s not it. I’ve had huge charges for “self-administered drugs” and refused to pay for something I didn’t get. They tried to bill albuterol this way because I also use it at home. I wouldn’t pay it because I don’t use another med they mixed in the breathing treatment.
Betcha it says “self-administered drugs” on there. If so, that’s the charge for the lortab, and their drug charges are a major racket. I had to fight with them once before over that stuff. I’d definitely say something about that before paying anything on the bill and find out what that’s for.
If you were sent from work, then the paperwork that Sprint sent had the incorrect address and you need to fix it with them. If you went on your own later, then you did right by insisting they fix things. Keep on it. Bristol is usually pretty good, but that time of the morning is when anything can and does usually happen in a place like the ER. I’ve had some problems there, but not that bad. I don’t understand why so many people have these types of troubles there and I never have.
Advertisement