Hospital system reports hefty loss

<br>(Tulsa-AP) -- Tulsa's Hillcrest HealthCare System expects to lose more than 11.9 million dollars this fiscal year. <br><br>Hillcrest's Chief Executive Officer Donald Lorack Junior says about

Thursday, June 29th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Tulsa-AP) -- Tulsa's Hillcrest HealthCare System expects to lose more than 11.9 million dollars this fiscal year.

Hillcrest's Chief Executive Officer Donald Lorack Junior says about 6,000,000 of the expected loss is due to startup costs for the new SouthCrest Hospital.

Lorack says the remaining loss can be blamed on a number of factors including a high number of Medicaid patients and insufficient reimbursements.

Hillcrest also has been notified by Moody's Investors Service that it will be placed on its credit watch list for a possible bond rating downgrade of its 1999 $236,000,000 bond issue. A lower grade could affect Hillcrest's ability to get future funding.

The health care system includes Hillcrest Medical Center, Tulsa Regional Medical Center, Doctors Hospital and SouthCrest.