Christus Spohn Hospital Beeville continues to lose money.

The county-owned hospital complex has lost Christus Spohn about $400,000 in the last six months, its chief executive told county commissioners on Monday.

Jerry Rodriguez, the chief operating officer and vice president of the hospital, said the Beeville facility is supported financially by other hospitals within the Christus Spohn system that earn more revenues than budgeted.

Rodriguez reported the hospital’s financial struggles during his regularly monthly meeting with commissioners on Monday.

He acknowledged the not-for-profit hospital also suffered a $4.9 million revenue loss in the 2006-07 budget year and a $1 million loss in the 2007-08 budget year.

The hospital has lost $400,000 in revenue since the budget year began on July 1 2008, he reported Monday.

Despite the revenue shortfall since July 1, “we’re looking much better than we did last year at this time,” Rodriguez said.

“We provide about $2.3 million a year in charity care,” he said. “That is not our charges; that is our actual costs... for staff, supplies, overhead that it costs us to provide charity care. Those are patients that come to us and don’t have a means, either they are uninsured or under-insured, and cannot pay for the services.”

Rodriguez also said the first floor of the hospital continues to be shut down. The first floor has been shut down for several years because of low patient count.

He also told county leaders that Christus Spohn was continuing to upgrade the hospital with $1 million it received from the health care fund.

Christus Spohn leases the county-owned facility for about $1 million annually. The lease payments are deposited into the county’s health care fund. Some of the money is used to provide free medical care to poor patients. Some of the lease payments are used to maintain the hospital complex.

County leaders agreed last year to allow Christus Spohn to spend up to $1 million in the health care fund to make needed improvements to the hospital.

Christus Spohn spent some of the money refurbishing the elevators at the hospital, installing new gas and oxygen lines, and replacing the chillers and coolers.

The new state-of-the-art, energy-efficient air conditioning system should last 25-35 years and reduce electricity costs over the long run, Rodriguez assured commissioners.

The hospital also is building a new pharmacy to meet state requirements that call for mixing certain drug ingredients in a sterile environment. The hospital is scheduled to improve the air flow to the board room in the basement, repair roofs and some electrical work.

Christus Spohn, in turn, allowed the county government to spend upwards of $875,000 in interest earned on the lease payments. The county used the money to help balance its budget in the 2007-08 budget year. Christus Spohn also agreed last year to allow the county to use $149,000 in interest accrued in the health care fund to pay for salary increases for county employees during the 2008-09 budget year.

Rodriguez said Christus Spohn will allow the county to spend another $100,000 or so in interest accrued next budget year.