re: Valley Health 'recalibration' to hit workers across network (NVDaily)

By Alex Bridges -- abridges@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- Valley Health's efforts to "recalibrate" positions will hit salaries across the hospital network, officials said Friday.

The initiative means many workers could see their "shift differential" pay cut but, as two administrators explained, the system plans to compensate those affected employees with bonuses or other means "to make them whole."

The initiative began roughly a year ago after Elizabeth Savage-Tracy took over as Valley Health's vice president of human resources. As the new person in charge of the department, Savage-Tracy recalled taking a look the "total rewards program" to make sure it was fair, competitive and sustainable.

Total rewards includes all benefits, such as health insurance, welfare, retirement plans, as well as compensation -- base and premium pay. Premium pay includes shift differentials and career-ladder pay. Total rewards also includes "access management" -- vacation, holiday pay and other benefits.

To read the entire story, follow this link: http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2011/11/valley-health-recalibration-to-hit-workers-across-network.php

re: Some VHS workers to get raises; others could see pay cuts (NVDaily)

By Alex Bridges -- abridges@nvdaily.com


http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2011/11/valley-health-to-realign-positions.php

WINCHESTER -- Some Valley Health staff face pay cuts or may get increases as the hospital system equalizes positions among its thousands of workers.

Employees learned this week salaries may rise or fall as a result of an effort to align job titles and descriptions among the thousands of staff across the system.


Details of the initiative -- specifically who the changes affect and by how much -- were not available Thursday. More details on the effort would be available today, said Carol Weare, public relations manager for Valley Health.



Read the reamainder of the story on NVDaily:
http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2011/11/valley-health-to-realign-positions.php

Update on Lewis Gale Medical vs. Winchester Medical Center comparison

Back in November of 2009, The Pub shared a side-by-side comparison between Lewis Gale Medical Center (for-profit) in Salem City and WMC (not-for-profit).  Click on the link below to review:

http://thepibbsterspub.blogspot.com/2009/11/winchester-medical-center-lewis-gale.html


For 2010, here are a couple of hilights of the comparison:
Lewis-Gale paid $27,437,225 in taxes while WMC paid just $110,699.
Lewis-Gale recorded a profit of $34.1 million vs. WMC's $53.1 million.


Reference:
http://vhi.org/LewisGale%20Medical%20Center.html?=h6544/
http://vhi.org/Winchester%20Medical%20Center.html?=h1934/

Winchester Medical Center's profits from 2000-2010

2000 $11,917,127 
 
2001 $4,262,944 

2002 $25,868,766 
 
2003 $35,113,921 
 
2004 $46,711,931 
 
2005 $54,346,679 

2006 $57,422,789 
 
2007 $66,617,961 
 
2008 $9,500,911 

2009 $53,757,390

2010 $53,104,420
=================

$418,624,839 total profits since 2000 to 2010 for WMC.

Valley Health-backed study shows $1.24B area impact

The Winchester Star and NVDaily shared a story in today's paper that Valley Health is pumping about $1.24 billion into the regional economy this year.

There is no doubt that VHS has positive impact on the regional area but is the Winchester citizens feeling the affect of them not being a better neighbor in paying their real-estate taxes to the City of Winchester?

Just one example, how much more will the citizens of Winchester water rates keep increasing?

The report shows that VHS's annual community benefit for 2010 was $96.7 million but that community covers 18 regional counties serving approximate 1.1 million individuals.  The 2010 census tells us that approx, 26k individuals live in Winchester and 78k in Frederick County.  Winchester and Frederick County represents approx 9.5% of the regional population served by VHS.

Did this report share what VHS's current Investments and other securities were for 2010?

For the end of 2009, VHS's Investments and other Securities were as follows:

150,645,982 - Alternative Investments
  4,647,177 - Cash Equivalents
286,479,087 - Mutual Funds
 15,103,325 - Private Realty/Resource
  2,662,445 - Municipal Bonds
 24,542,903 - Common Stock
===========
$484,080,919

Now, should not the nurses and blue collar workers be better compensated?  Just review the jobs listings on the VHS website to see what some of those jobs are paying.

"As an economist, I'd have to say the market works and Valley Health has no particular interest in paying more than it has to, and they pay people what they need to pay in order to attract and retain them," Koch said.

As it's been stated, have you ever rode through VHS's parking lot and see how many out-of-state tags on the vehicles?  The blue collar worker salaries are more attractive to those who live in the neighboring state vs. the immediate local area.

The system’s employees are paid $287.5 million for their work and earn an additional $68.6 million in fringe benefits, Koch said. Average compensation of Val­ley Health employees exceeds the regional average by 20 percent.

But look at the regional area it's using for comparison.  Should it not be 20 percent more?  Have you seen what the VHS administrators are making?  Throw out the administrators and doctors salaries, and then see where those salaries would stack up with the regional area and even with the county across the mountain.

"Valley isn't paying its personnel as much as, for example, what they would earn in Frederick County, but it's paying them essentially what the market requires in order to attract really capable people."  Koch said.

Consider this, does not our local school system need additional funding?  The perception is that VHS and Shenandoah University will be partnering together to start a medical school which is great but what about our public school system?

To close, why should the citizens of Winchester continue to borne the lost of tax base from VHS’s campus while they make millions and millions locally while reinvesting into other regional counties and even out of state?  Is this fair to the citizens of Winchester?

For the record for 2010, the Winchester Medical Center had a profit or in excess of revenue of $53.1 million and the Surgi-Center had a profit of $3.6 million.

Reference most recent information available to The Pub:
Salaries for VHS from 2006-2008

VHS's 2009 Whole Group IRS990 Return

VHS Corporate's Mgmt 2009 IRS990

How many rooms booked by the visitors for the World Series?

These are the number are "booked" rooms as a result of the World Series as the individuals I spoke with stated, "These are the rooms booked for 10 days and if they lose, then the number of rooms booked will decrease."

Pool Play is through Wednesday where all 9 teams will be here.  The playoff round starts on Thursday afternoon, so 4 teams most likely be leaving/checking out on Thursday mid-day leaving 5 teams in the hotels.  After Thursday's games, 2 teams will be eliminated so one could figure that those 2 teams will be leaving/checking out on Friday mid-day.

Looks like there are 7 nights guaranteed that the 9 teams will be in hotel rooms and that's if they all checked in on August 11th and not Friday during the day before 3pm on the 12th.  Some teams could leave on Wednesday as a result of their pool play coming to an end and not qualifying for Thursday's playoff round.  5 teams will be here for at least 8 nights and and 3 teams here for at least 9 nights as I am banking on the other team being Winchester for Thursday and Friday's playoff rounds.

Bryant, AR coaches stated on Sunday "We travel pretty well, about 75"

So if you use the average of 3.2 people per room x 23 = 73.6, so that is pretty accurate for the Arkansas team.

If you figure 151 rooms x 3.2 comes out to about 483 visitors.  Make note I am sure those tournament officials are staying 1 per room so I would venture to guess 400-500 visitors (including team members and fans) is pretty much in the ballpark of who has traveled into Winchester for the World Series.

My question is this, wonder why the World Series committee did not try to put 2 teams per Winchester Hotel so that the City of Winchester could of gained more tax revenue since the City of Winchester is footing the entire bill for this World Series?


(70) rooms booked in Frederick County Hotels:

(18) Aloft at $85 per night (Mineral Area, MO)

(23) Country Inn Suites at $83 per night (Bryant, AR)

(14) Courtyard by Marriott at $99 per night (Williamette Valley, OR)

(15) Fairfield Inn at $119 per night (New Milford, CT)



(81) rooms booked in City of Winchester Hotels:

(15) Hilton Garden at $129 per night (Elk Grove, CA)

(15) Wingate Inn at $80.77 per night (Glen Allen, VA)

(13) Hampton-Inn North at $120 per night (West Raleigh, NC)

(20) Hampton-Inn University at $120 per night (Lexington, KY)

(18) George Washington Hotel at $119 per night (both tourney officials and Bel Air, MD is staying here)


Wonder how many excursions were booked by August 4th?
http://winchestervaworldseries.com/latest-news/local-excursions-offered-to-residents-and-world-series-visitors/

Good luck to all of the teams in the 10U Cal-Ripken World Series

Best of luck to all World Series teams and hope all of the visiting families enjoy their stay in Winchester.

Hope the baseball God's bless our local area with some great weather from August 13-20th.

The Winchester Star has a special web-page devoted to the World Series which can be found at the following link:  http://www.winchesterstar.com/uploads/content/WorldSeries/Home.html

What's the final price tag going to be for hosting the World Series by the WPRD?

Just more random thoughts about the cost of the World Series, does not the local residents of Winchester deserve to know what the real cost is in hosting such an event?

Information cited from Winchester Star article on Saturday:


A costly endeavor

The World Series, however, doesn't come cheap.

Veach said he is on pace to spend about $218,000 to operate the tournament. That includes the $45,000 paid to the Babe Ruth organization for the contract.

Another $60,600 in capital expenditures went toward upgrades at Yost Field, some of which Veach said would have been needed soon regardless.

If revenue projections from items such as ticket, souvenir and concession sales are reached, Veach said, he thinks the tournament will net about $30,000 for the parks department.

Natalie Loudan stated she has spent around 20 hours a week on the World Series for about the last 18 months.


Referencing Mrs. Loudoun statement after its calculated, that works out to about 1512 hours worked by Mrs. Loudoun and if one would figure a labor rate of $10-$15 per hour that comes out in the ballpark of $15,120-$22,680.

Now how many hours have been logged by the Winchester Park and Recreation department employees who are paid by the citizenry of Winchester and how much of the payroll has been devoted to the World Series so far?

Seriously, how much is this really costing the taxpayers of Winchester to host such event? And don't forget, the City has only 3 kids on the team.


Winchester Baseball serves up to 4 local counties representing up to 156,117 population and then when you throw in the two WV counties that bumps up the population to 194,016

Population figures:
City of Winchester - 26,203
Frederick County - 78,305
Clarke County - 14,034
Warren County - 37,575
Hardy County, WV - 14,205
Hampshire County, WV - 23,964

SU's Spirit of Shenandoah campaign (as of May 9, 2010)

The following information was collected from SU's Spirit of Shenandoah campaign site link back on May 9, 2010.

Campaign Progress

Overall Campaign Goal: $65.0 million
Raised to Date: $65.1 million 

The overall campaign goal is comprised of the following:

Capital Gifts

The Spirit of Shenandoah campaign seeks philanthropic gifts in support of several building projects—all of which will enhance the experience for Shenandoah students, and, in many cases, members of the community as well. These capital projects include Halpin-Harrison Hall (a new home for the School of Business), Brandt Student Center, a new athletic center and renovations to Armstrong Hall.

Capital Gifts Goal: $29.5 million
Raised to Date: $18.3 million

Endowment

A robust endowment is a sure sign of an institution’s strength and vitality. The Spirit of Shenandoah campaign seeks philanthropic gifts that will build the endowment to a higher level, enabling the university to establish chairs and professorships and to provide additional scholarships and financial aid to deserving students.

Endowment Goal: $32.0 million
Raised to Date: $16.6 million

Operational

From day to day and from year to year, Shenandoah must keep the lights on, maintain our beautiful campus, upgrade technology, compensate staff and faculty, and so much more. Contributions to the Shenandoah University Annual Fund help the university stay vibrant and on course while also allowing for innovative thinking, new programs and a promising future. Annual Fund gifts are particularly critical during the Spirit of Shenandoah campaign, because we must never lose sight of our day-to-day needs. 

Operational Goal: $3.5 million
Raised to Date: $30.2 million
 

About The Campaign

The Spirit of Shenandoah is the most significant fund-raising effort in the history of Shenandoah University. It is a comprehensive campaign that will elevate our institution to a new level of prominence, and it has been quietly building momentum with the generous assistance of many leadership donors who have made Shenandoah their philanthropic priority.

The campaign is motivated by an ambitious master plan developed by faculty, students, administrators and trustees. It enumerates our goals, augments our strengths and addresses the challenges we face as an educational institution in the new millennium. We realize we must better serve our students, alumni and faculty. We also recognize our responsibility to serve our community, region and world. Everything we do at Shenandoah is ultimately about giving students the knowledge, the ethical foundation and the skills to make something special of their lives. The Spirit of Shenandoah is the exciting endeavor that will honor our mission and shape a spectacular future for the university we all cherish.

The Spirit of Shenandoah
Halpin-Harrison Hall	$8-13 million
Brandt Student Center	$5-8 million
New Athletic Center	$9.5-20 million
Renovations to Armstrong Hall	$7 million
Revitalizing the Endowment	$32 million
Annual Unrestricted Funds	$3.5 million
Spirit of Shenandoah Goal	$65 million

http://www.spiritofshenandoah.org/Progress/progress.asp

Winchester World Series 10U team moves to 63-2-1 on the year

The 10U Winchester World Series teams moves to 63-2-1 on the year with a 1 to 0 win over the Bellport Braves in the championship game of the Seahore Showdown Invitational tourney at the Sports at the Beach complex in Rehoboth Beach located in Georgetown, DE.

Winchester went 4-0 in pool-play with 8-0 win over Hauppauge Eagles 9U and 12-2 win over the Connequot Chiefs on Friday.  Saturday, Winchester had wins of 8-0 over Marlboro Mustang Gold and 13-1 win over Marlboro Mustangs.

Winchester received a 1st round by in the playoff round and had a rematch with the Connequot Chiefs that resulted in 4-0 shutout by Winchester.  The win setup the championship game with the Bellport Braves as Winchester held on for 1-0 shutout.  Winchester outscored their opponents 46 to 3 in the 3-day tournament.

Follow the 10U World Series results at the following from Aug. 13th-20th:

Pool Play Schedule and Bracket (pdf)

Standings Update

Live Brackets

CAL RIPKEN 10-YEAR-OLD WORLD SERIES

Millwood closure debate ... Is this picture worth a thousand words or not?

Could this be a picture of what's to come IF that Millwood section gets closed in front of SU's OBT?   :)

Have a great day!

Is the WS event in the hole $75k already and where is this up to 5,000 visitors coming from?

From The Pub's perspective, the 10U World Series event is in the hole $75k already with the loan from WPRD reserve fund for this event.  Going to be interesting if this $75k gets paid back to the WPRD reserve fund or not?

From WincStar on Feb. 24, 2010:
http://winchesterstar.com/pages/view/series.html

The City Council voted 8-0 Tuesday to authorize spending $75,000 to obtain the contract to host the 2011 Cal Ripken-Babe Ruth 10-Year-Old World Series.

The vote came after the council received a revised plan for holding the tournament. The board reviewed the idea during its pre-meeting work session and added the item to its meeting agenda.

Council President Jeffrey Buettner was absent.

Brad Veach, the city’s parks and recreation director, requested $75,000 in reserve funds for the tournament.

That money will be added to a matching contribution from Winchester Baseball to provide $150,000 for contract fees, facility repairs, and operating funds.

Veach said he thought the event would yield at least $75,000 in revenue, which would enable the money taken from the reserves to be replenished.

Council Vice President Art Major asked Veach to put his department’s money where his mouth is, proposing that any reimbursement shortfall be taken from the parks budget for fiscal year 2011. Veach agreed.

What is the up to 5,000 visitors representing?  How did someone come up with that number?

Baseball series could attract 5,000 visitors

And pump up to $750,000 into local economy

July 22, 2011
By Val Van Meter
The Winchester Star
     
Parks and Recreation Director Brad Veach said about $150,000 has been generated, in cash and in-kind donations, to refurbish Yost Field - pictured above, provide transportation, and offer special trips and incentives to the visitors during the upcoming Babe Ruth League, Cal Ripkin 10-Year-Old World Series. 

Winchester Parks and Recreation Director Brad Veach sees 10-year-old baseball players and thinks tourist dollars. 

At Thursday morning's meeting of the Winchester-Frederick County Tourism Board, he told members that the upcoming Babe Ruth League, Cal Ripken 10-Year-Old World Series could bring as many as 5,000 people to Winchester next month.

He added that those visitors could pump $750,000 into the local economy. 

http://winchesterstar.com/articles/view/baseball_series_could_attract_5_000_visitors

Previous supporting posts of interests:
http://thepibbsterspub.blogspot.com/2009/10/financial-impact-on-winchester-if-they.html

http://thepibbsterspub.blogspot.com/2009/10/what-are-economic-multipliers.html

http://thepibbsterspub.blogspot.com/2010/02/2011-10yr-old-cal-ripken-world-series.html

VHS rebounds from 2008 and has an outstanding year in 2009 for profitability!

Wonder how true this quote is ... "Paper lay still, they can write anything on it"

Did not VHS get a heck'va deal when it was agreed upon with City officials where VHS just pays a flat fee of $750,000 to the City of Winchester when you compare it the profit margins that they are consistently turning out?

Also, the Wellness & Fitness Center had $3,274,581 in total revenue for 2009.

Have a great day!

Click on image to enlarge!

Supporting documents:

VHS's 2009 Whole Group IRS990 Return

VHS Corporate's Mgmt 2009 IRS990