Real-Life Math
Administrators are in charge of entire facilities, including everything
from monitoring the dinner menu to making sure the hospital finances are in
order.
One way to ensure that the hospital is in order is to add up
numbers. "We calculate things like how many staff will be needed per patient,
how much it will cost to keep one patient per day and how we will pay for
things like medication, food and housekeeping," says K.J. Page. On a larger
scale, administrators have to watch over the hospital's entire budget plans
and financial statements.
You're an administrator at Jubilee Hospital.
It is a large hospital that serves a population of more than 200,000 people.
The annual year-end statements have just come in and you want to review them
to see how this year's budget compares with the previous year's budget.
Financial
Data
All figures in thousands of dollars ($7,622 is actually
$7,622,000)
Revenue
| ?? | Last Year | The Year Before Last |
| Government grants | $181,083 | $180,071 |
| Sales, services | $16,744 | $17,923 |
| Patient charges | $7,038 | $7,622 |
| Capital construction | $4,842 | 3,343 |
Expenses
| ?? | Last Yearr | The Year Before Last |
| Salaries | $152,247 | $151,642 |
| Drugs, medical supplies | $25,296 | $23,501 |
| Labs and diagnostics | $9,670 | $10,300 |
| Plant, capital, housekeeping | $15,636 | $14,395 |
| Education, dietary, administration | $7,356 | $7,546 |
| Other | $2,743 | $2,770 |
First, you want to know how much money the hospital
brought in for both years, and find out which year was more successful:
- What revenue did the hospital generate last year?
- Is this more or less than the year before?
- How much more or less?
Next you want to know if the hospital lost or made money in both
years:
- Did the hospital produce a profit or a deficit the year before last?
- How about last year?
- Financially, which year was better for the hospital?